Capt. Compton was the son of William Wilson Compton and Nancy Carter Compton (they were first cousins). He married Matilda J. "Mattie" Bird.

From "A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans" by William E. Connelley, Topeka, 1919:

"He grew up in the country and became a stockman and for seven years was a drover and shipper of cattle. Much of his experience in that industry was acquired before the advent of railroads in this part of Virginia. His market was in Baltimore and Richmond. He was a soldier in the Confederate Army when ordinarily he would have been a boy at home in school, and, therefore, acquired a very limited education. As a Confederate soldier, he was in General Early's Corps until just before the battle of Winchester. He was then transferred to the cavalry and was home for the purpose of securing a horse when that battle occurred. He was later wounded in a cavalry raid but contiued in the war until its close. He suffered greatly from exposure as a soldier, particularly while defending Richmond in the trenches, and the last few years of his life he was practically an invalid. On coming out to Kansas in 1877, J. Watson Compton brought his family from Bland County, Virginia, overland to Princeton, Kentucky, where they embarked on a boat for Cincinnati and from there by railroad to this state. J. Watson Compton bought railroad lands ten miles west of Great Bend and six miles north of Pawnee Rock. He developed a farm from the native grass and prairie and again took up stock raising. He was especially successful in this business and was widely known over this part of the state. He handled his stock on a very small margin of profit when the times were hard, and for a couple of years it is said that his living came chiefly from the chickens and cows on his place. He continued as a fixture and permanent settler in that locality until his death in 1891. He served as a school director from the date of his settlement until his death, and a school directorship was in the family for twenty-five years, either he or his wife being on the board. He also served as an official of the township. His political support was given to the Democratic ticket, and he was a regular contributor and active member of the Baptist Church and helped to organize the Walnut Valley Church.