Charles Andrews (May 27, 1827, in New York Mills, Oneida County, New York – October 22, 1918, in

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Onondaga County, New York Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives fro ...

) was an American lawyer and politician. He was

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

from 1881 to 1882 and from 1892 to 1897.

Life

He was the son of George Andrews and Polly Andrews. He was educated at Cazenovia Seminary and then studied law at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1849. On May 17, 1855, he married Marcia A. Shankland (1832–1921), and their son was William Shankland Andrews. Charles Andrews was

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Onondaga County from 1854 to 1856. He was Mayor of

from 1861 to 1862, and in 1868. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1867, and to the

1868 Republican National Convention The 1868 Republican National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on May 20 to May 21, 1868. Ulysses S. Grant won the election and became the 18th president of t ...

. In May 1870, he was elected one of the first judges of the re-organized

. He was appointed Chief Judge by Governor Alonzo B. Cornell after the resignation of

Charles J. Folger Charles James Folger (April 16, 1818 – September 4, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was a State Senator in New York from 1862 to 1869 and served as the 34th U. ...

in 1881, and remained on the post until the end of 1882. At the State election in November 1882, Andrews ran to succeed himself for a full 14-year term as Chief Judge but was defeated by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

William C. Ruger William Crawford Ruger (January 30, 1824 Bridgewater, Oneida County, New York – January 14, 1892 Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from ...

. Andrews resumed his post as an associate judge and was re-elected unopposed to another 14-year term in November 1884. In November 1892, he was elected unopposed Chief Judge. He retired at the end of 1897 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years, after 27 and a half years on the Court of Appeals bench, the longest tenure ever. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Charles 1827 births 1918 deaths Cazenovia College alumni People from New York Mills, New York Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals Mayors of Syracuse, New York Onondaga County District Attorneys Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York) New York (state) Republicans 19th-century American judges