James Finley Watson was born on March 15, 1840, in Dubuque, Iowa, to James and Emily Watson.[1] In 1853, the family relocated to Douglas County in Oregon Territory. Watson then was educated in Eugene, Oregon at Columbia College before it closed after two major fires.[1] After attempting gold mining he would learn the law under Rufus Mallory in Roseburg, Oregon, with admittance to the legal bar in 1863.[1] He then served as a prosecutor for Oregon’s Second Judicial District from 1864 to 1872.[1]