Born in Salisbury, young James Walker Osborne (1811-1869) was sent when his mother died to live with Mecklenburg relatives Robert and Margaret Davidson. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1830 before his 19th birthday. He studied law and from 1836-38 served as Mecklenburg County Solicitor.

In 1840 he ran an unsucessful campaign for the N.C. Senate. By order of President Millard Fillmore, Osborne became superintendent of the Charlotte Mint, serving from 1849-53. In 1853, he ran for U.S. Congress and lost. His financial dealings proved more successful than his early political ambitions. Osborne invested in several area gold mines and became a partner in a salt works. In 1859, he was appointed judge of Superior Court. In 1861, he voted for North Carolina's secession from the Union. After the Civil War, he became a law partner with Rufus Barringer. In 1868 he finally won a State Senate seat, 28 years after his first attempt.

Osborne was a trustee of the Charlotte Female Academy and Davidson College. He married a widow, Mrs. Mary Ann Irwin Moore, in 1842. They had seven children. James Walker Osborne is buried in Charlotte's Elmwood Cemetery.