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If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Laura Pruden Submitted: June 2003 ========================================================================= Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ======================================================== submitted by Laura Pruden, email Raisndustbunys@aol.com ======================================================== EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical JAMES CURRIER ANDREWS - Vol II, pg 422-425 "Opportunity is not local, it is universal; it does not depend upon a map but upon a time table," writes a modern philosopher and the statement finds its verification in the life record of James Currier Andrews and other self-made men, who have made wise use of both their time and their opportunities. From office boy to the head of one of the large milling enterprises of the upper Mississippi valley is a far step. It was along this course, however, that Mr. Andrews pursued his way and long since he has "arrived." The company, of which he is today the head, is one of the strong concerns of the northwest and in milling circles the name of Yerxa, Andrews & Thurston, durum millers, is known from coast to coast. James C. Andrews came to Minneapolis from New England. His birth occurred in Concord, New Hampshire, on the 6th of October, 1867, his parents being William G. and Lou J. (Currier) Andrews, both of whom were also natives of the Old Granite state. The father became a wholesale dealer in hops and malts in Boston, Massachusetts, where he conducted business for many years. Coming to Minneapolis he here lived retired until his death in 1910, his wife surviving until 1917. James C. Andrews pursued his education in the schools of Manchester and of Boston, Massachusetts, and also took a short college course in Marietta College. Ohio. When he had completed his studies he came to Minneapolis in 1890 and was here employed by the Pillsbury Flour Mills Company as an office boy. His faithfulness to the tasks assigned him, his capability and his diligence, won him promotion through various positions until he became assistant manager of the company, with which he remained for twenty-four years, gaining a thorough knowledge of the business in principle and detail. His long experience in this field well qualified him to enter business on his own account and he organized the firm known as Yerxa, Andrews & Thurston in 1914. Through the intervening period of eight years he has continued as president of the company, which owns its mills, all of these being located in Minneapolis. The firm specializes in the manufacture of durum wheat products, which find a sale throughout the world, their business covering a large export as well as domestic trade. They have two milling units with a capacity of twenty- five hundred barrels per day and the business has grown to be one of the strong concerns of the northwest. Important and extensive as are his interests in this connection Mr. Andrews has also become well known in other fields of labor. In 1911 he built the Andrews Hotel and is the president of the corporation owning this property, which is one of the leading hotels in Minneapolis. He is likewise a director in the Metropolitan National Bank, which he aided in organizing, serving throughout the intervening period as a representative of its directorate. In 1896 Mr. Andrews was married to Miss Harriet L. Blake of Manchester. New Hampshire. For his second wife Mr. Andrews chose Miss Grace E. Gerrish of Minneapolis, whom he wedded on the 27th of October, 1919, and they have one child, Nancy Currier. Mr. Andrews is a member of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. He has been connected for a number of years with the promotion of transportation interests and is president of the Minneapolis Traffic Association and chairman of the transportation committee of the Chamber of Commerce, which is one of the most important committees of that organization. He has also been chairman of the Millers' National Federation transportation committee and it is doubtful if any resident of Minneapolis has as comprehensive and thorough a knowledge of transportation problems and questions which have to do with the shipping interests of the city in every particular. He also finds time for the social amenities of life and is an interested and valued member of the Minneapolis Club, the Minikahda Club and the Minneapolis Automobile Club, and has been a member of Minneapolis Art Institute since its building. He has always maintained a proportionate balance between recreation and business, this being due to the fact that while he has not spent so much time in the former he has the ability to throw aside business cares and enter heartily into the enjoyment of the hour. Close application and thoroughness have ever been among his marked characteristics and have constituted the foundation upon which he has built his notable and substantial success.