J. B. C. Drew

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J. B. C. Drew
Horatio Bisbee, Jr
Succeeded byJohn B. Stickney
10th Florida Attorney General
In office
1871 – May 4, 1872
GovernorHarrison Reed
Preceded bySherman Conant
Succeeded byHoratio Bisbee Jr.
Personal details
BornJuly 26, 1843
Newmarket, New Hampshire, US
DiedNovember 4, 1924(1924-11-04) (aged 81)
Jacksonville, Florida, US
Political partyRepublican (until 1872; after 1873)
Liberal Republican (1872)
Spouse(s)
Winifred Ellis
​
(div. 1871)​

Sarah Jane Salter
​
(died 1886)​

Ella A.
Military service
Allegiance 
35th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

James Brackett Creighton Drew (July 26, 1843 – November 4, 1924), also referred to as J. B. C. Drew, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 10th Florida Attorney General.[1]

Early life and military service

Drew was born in Newmarket, New Hampshire in 1843. At some point before the American Civil War, Drew moved to Madison, Wisconsin.[2]

On January 24, 1864, Drew was commissioned as a

Mobile Campaign.[3] On January 14, 1865, Drew was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant.[4][5] He was mustered out of service on May 17, 1865.[2]

After the war, Drew moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and became a local lawyer.[6]

Political career

In 1871, Drew, via the favor of powerful friends, was appointed by

Governor of Florida, as the Florida Attorney General, succeeding Sherman Conant, who had been appointed a United States Marshal.[5] Drew, a Republican, abandoned his first wife, Winifred, in Oshkosh and moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in order to take office.[6]

By February 1872, Reed was proving to be an unpopular governor among both Democrats and Republicans, and he refused to extend Drew's tenure as Florida Attorney General. During Reed's second impeachment trial in the Florida Senate, Samuel T. Day, the Lieutenant Governor of Florida, attempted to oust Reed from power by declaring himself acting governor. Day's conspiracy was joined by Drew and two state senators.[6]

In May 1872, Drew joined the newly founded Liberal Republican Party in defiance of Reed, and was one of Florida's delegates to the 1872 Liberal Republican convention, serving on the Committee on Credentials and the Committee on Platform.[7] However, on May 4, 1872, while Drew was preoccupied at the convention, the Florida Senate ruled that Day's coup was unconstitutional and reappointed Reed as governor. Drew was removed from office that day, and was replaced by Horatio Bisbee, Jr., who was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.[8] Drew, knowing his political reputation in Florida was tarnished, left the state altogether and became a lawyer in Washington, D.C.[6]

After the 1872 election and the collapse of the Liberal Republican Party, he rejoined the Republican Party.[7]

Despite his opposition to President

Radical Republicans due to his former membership of the Liberal Republican Party and his betrayal of Reed, Drew was eventually confirmed by the United States Senate in 1874.[10]

Later career and retirement

After leaving his position as United States Attorney around 1880, Drew permanently settled in Washington, D.C., and opened a private law firm in the city.

Drew worked as a broker for several railroads in West Virginia. In December 1894, Drew helped the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad purchase 54,000 acres (84.375 square miles) of land near Horse Creek, West Virginia, which allowed for the connection of the railroad to the Kanawha River.[11]

Drew retired by 1900 and moved to Europe, though he fled back to America following the outbreak of World War I. Drew first lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before moving to the Ravenswood Mansion in St. Albans, West Virginia. Drew also owned the Cummer House in Jacksonville, Florida, and often spent winters there.[5][12][13]

Personal life and death

Drew fell ill two weeks after arriving in Jacksonville, Florida, and died at his vacation home on November 4, 1924.[5] He is buried in Jacksonville's Evergreen Cemetery and is interred with his third wife.

Drew was married three times. His first marriage was to Winifred Ellis (1848–1901) from Wisconsin in the 1860s, until he abandoned her in 1871 in order to move to Florida. After moving to Washington, D.C., Drew married Sarah Jane Salter (1843–1886), until her death in 1886. He was married a final time to Ella A. (1857), until his death.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Florida Attorney General - Florida Attorneys General (1845 - )". myfloridalegal.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  2. ^ a b Wisconsin. Adjutant General's Office (1886). Roster of Wisconsin volunteers, war of the rebellion, 1861-1865. The Library of Congress. Madison, Democrat printing co., state printers.
  3. ^ "35th Wisconsin Infantry History". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  4. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ a b Convention, Liberal Republican Party National (1872). Proceedings of the Liberal Republican Convention, in Cincinnati, May Lst, 2d and 3d, 1872: Horace Greeley's Letter of Acceptance. Address of the New York State Committee to Their Fellow-citizens. Baker & Godwin, printers. p. 7. drew.
  8. ^ Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Florida. W. & C. Julian Bartlett. 1871.
  9. ^ "WASHINGTON. The Railroad and the Mails" (PDF). The New York Times. September 16, 1873. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  10. ^ Senate, United States Congress (1901). Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States.
  11. ^ The Coal Trade Journal. 1894.
  12. ^ St. Albans Historical Society (2002). "HISTORIC PROPERTIES of ST. ALBANS" (PDF). St. Albans History. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "PROGRAM-ST. ALBANS-NITRO BRIDGE OPENING" (PDF). History of Nitro. November 12, 1934. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
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