James Andrews

As printed in 1910

JAMES ANDREWS.

In a history of the men whose labors have contributed to public progress in Henry county and who, having lived useful, active and honorable lives, have passed on to their honorable reward, mention should be made of James Andrews, for many years one of the leading farmers of this part of the state. His sahen traits of character were such as commended him to the confidence and good will of all who knew him, and his memory is enshrined in the hearts of many with whom he came in contact. He was born at Hartford, in the Western Reserve of Ohio, April 17, 1830, a son of the Rev. Wells and Nancy (Harper) Andrews. His father was one of the pioneer residents of the Reserve, where he located when a youth of seventeen years. He went to that state from Connecticut in 1804 with his parents and five brothers, and, determining to devote his life to the work of the ministry, he afterward became pastor of the Presbyterian church of Hartford, Ohio. He married Nancy Harper, a Virginian by birth, and a sister of Joshua Harper, one of the first and best known settlers of Henry county, Illinois. On leaving Hartford, Rev. Wells Andrews removed to Athens, Ohio, where for several years he occupied a professorship in the university. In 1843 he came to Illinois and purchased a farm near Tremont in Tazewell county, while at the same time he accepted the pastorate of a Congregational church in that locality.

It was upon that farm that James Andrews was reared, receiving thorough training in the work of the fields and coming to love the life to which he devoted his time and energies in his youth. The opportunity for investment at a lower rate than he would have to pay for land in Tazewell county led him to remove to Henry county in 1854 and as his financial resources increased he made wise and judicious investment in farm property. His entire life was devoted to general agricultural pursuits and his spirit of enterprise and determination enabled him to place his fields under a high state of cultivation and to carry on the farm work in accordance with the most progressive methods.

On the 26th of March, 1862, Mr. Andrews was united in marriage to Miss Mary Campbell of Geneseo, who still survives him. They became the parents of ten children: Charles, of Steele City, Nebraska; John, of Ottawa, Illinois; William, of Geneseo; James, of Kewanee, Illinois; Robert, of Geneseo; George, of Nebraska; Mrs. Mary B. Young, of Shannon, Illinois; and Jessie, Maude and Wells, all of Geneseo.

The death of Mr. Andrews occurred in Geneseo, March 12, 1908. George W. Shaw, in writing of him said: "Mr. Andrews was heart and soul a farmer. He loved country Hfe and when absent from his farm was always impatient to return. He was a fine specimen of strong and healthy manhood until within a few of the last years of his life, when he retired from his farm to reside in Geneseo. His closing years were clouded by the advance of an incurable disease. During his whole life, however, he was of a cheerful and even jovial disposition and was fond of social enjoyments. He was not only a man diligent and successful in business, but also a reader of good books and a thinker. He loved to discuss public questions from an independent point of view; and as he grew older took less interest in partisan considerations. Independence of thought and action were prominent traits. To these were joined inflexible integrity and great kindness of heart. He was invariable in his attachments, a over of his family and friends and of all manhood — one of those men who are the strength and hope of a nation. It is not a flower of the valley that has faded but an oak of the forest that is laid low."

As printed in History of Henry County, Illinois (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.