Thomas J. Watson was born in Painted Post, New York in 1874, the only son of a hard working, but largely unsuccessful, farmer and lumberman. By the time Watson was 20 years old he had already held jobs as a teacher, bookkeeper, butcher, and peddler of pianos. Finally, in 1896 he took a job as a cash register salesman with the National Cash Register Company in Dayton Ohio. When he took the reigns of a fledgling time recording company in 1911, Watson was well prepared to make his mark on the corporate world.
‘Uniquely New York’ 
is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Links:
Path Through History
WSKG’s Path Through History
Broome County Historical Society
Photos Courtesy of:
Broome County Historical Society
IBM Archive