Quick Facts
| Intro | American lawyer and politician |
| Was | Manager |
| From | United States of America |
| Field | Business |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 1843, New Hampshire, USA; Newmarket, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA |
| Death | 1924, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, USA (aged 81 years) |
| Politics | Republican Party |
Biography
James B. C. Drew (1843 – November 4, 1924), also referred to as J. B. C. Drew, was an American soldier and politician who served as the 10th Florida Attorney General.
Early life and military service
Drew was born in New Hampshire in 1843. At some point before the American Civil War, Drew moved to Madison, Wisconsin.
On January 24, 1864, Drew was commissioned as a second lieutenant for Company F of the newly created 35th Wisconsin, fighting with them at the Battle of Spanish Fort and the Battle of Fort Blakeley during the Mobile Campaign. On January 14, 1865, Drew was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. He was mustered out of service on May 17, 1865.
After the war, Drew moved to Jacksonville, Florida.
Political career
In 1871, Drew, a Republican, was appointed by Florida Governor Harrison Reed as the 10th Florida Attorney General, succeeding Sherman Conant, who had been appointed a United States Marshal. Drew would only serve as the state's attorney general until 1872.
In 1872, Drew switched to the Liberal Republican Party and was one of Florida's delegates to the 1872 Liberal Republican convention, serving on the Committee on Credentials and the Committee on Platform. After the 1872 election and the collapse of the Liberal Republican Party, he rejoined the Republican Party.
Despite his opposition to President Ulysses S. Grant during the 1872 election, Grant nominated Drew as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Though voting on his appointment was delayed in Congress by the Radical Republicans due to his former membership of the more conservative Liberal Republican Party, Drew was eventually confirmed by the United States Senate.
Later life and death
At some point after his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Drew worked as a broker for several railroads in West Virginia. He was essential in the purchase of 54,000 acres (84.375 square miles) of land near Horse Creek, West Virginia, which allowed for the connection of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad to the Kanawha River. Drew also owned a home in Ravenswood, West Virginia.
At some point, Drew married a woman named Ella A.
Drew died in Jacksonville on November 4, 1924. He is buried in Jacksonville's Evergreen Cemetery and is interred with his wife.
