Josias J. Andrews

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Josias J. "Jerry" Andrews (May 5, 1841 – January 24, 1919) was an American politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1909 to 1913. He helped pass a ban on brick-making in the Victoria Park area, a move that led to the Hadacheck v. Sebastian case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

He was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, and moved to the United States with his family in 1854, settling in Illinois. In 1864, he served as a first sergeant in the 140th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Andrews attended Cornell College in Iowa, where he graduated, and worked as a superintendent of schools in Lyons, Iowa. He then studied law at the University of Michigan and later served again as a superintendent of schools in Toledo, Iowa, where he met George Alexander.

In 1890 he moved to California and worked in real estate. In April 1909, Mayor George Alexander appointed him to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. In December 1909, following a reform that created an at-large, nonpartisan city council, Andrews was elected to the City Council and was reelected in 1911.

Andrews married Anna W. Anthony, a cousin of Susan B. Anthony, on December 11, 1873, in Geneseo Township, Illinois. They had two children, Jesselyn and Ann, with Ann later becoming a stage actress.

He died in 1919 after being struck by a car in Lynwood, California, and passing away a week later from his injuries.