Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Jennie Cornelia French Andrews, 1858-1923
By Kwynn Carter, student, University of Wisconsin: Green Bay, WI
Member of the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs (MFWC) and prominent speaker at Conventions of MFWC and the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association
Jennie Cornelia French was born August 18, 1858, in Wellsville, New York, to William French and Caroline Burrows. She moved to Marshall, Minnesota, in the 1870s, where she met Dr. John Wesley Andrews, who would later become her husband. They married on April 4, 1877, moving to Mankato, Minnesota. On June 11, 1884, she gave birth to their son, Roy Newbery Andrews. Jennie Andrews passed away June 29, 1923, at her home in Mankato, as a result of health complications from bronchial asthma.
Andrews was a prominent member of the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs (MFWC). Her membership allowed her to become involved in social service, public health, legislation, community service, and industrial and conservation work. The specific women's club that she belonged to was the Art History Club of Mankato, which focused on studying artists and their work, but was also civically involved. In 1913, the club collected money to fund a visiting nurse and was working with the city to establish a detention hospital for contagious diseases.
She advocated for women's suffrage, and was asked numerous times to serve as a delegate and speaker at conventions of the MFWC and the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association. She presented her paper, "The Clubwoman's Responsibility for the Simple Life," at a conference for the MFWC on October 15, 1903. In 1920 she attended the annual meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Chicago. Her husband John shared her progressive ideology and interest in civic engagement; he served in the Minnesota Senate 1915-1918 and was an outspoken supporter of woman suffrage.
SOURCES:
1870 United States Federal Census, New York, Allegany County.
http://ancestry.com
1880 United States Federal Census, Minnesota, Lyon County.
http://ancestry.com
"Burglars at Mankato." The St. Paul Globe, October 16, 1901, p. 3.
https://newspapers.mnhs.org [NOTE: Not a direct link; must search for paper and date]
D.E. Sundeen, "Dr. John Wesley Andrews," Find a Grave, July 23, 2015.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149695854/john-wesley-andrews
D.E. Sundeen, "Jennie Cornelia French Andrews," Find a Grave, July 23, 2015.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149695853
"Delegates to Chicago Convention." Woman's Journal, 1920, Vol. 4, Issue 28, p. 794.
http://gerritsen.chadwyck.com [NOTE: Need password to get into site]
Hansen, Carissa, "Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs Collection," March 2016.
https://www.hclib.org/-/media/Hennepin-Library/Programs-and-Services/Finding-aids/2000-21-Minnesota-Federation-of-Womens-Clubs-2.pdf
Harper, Ida Husted, et al., eds. History of Woman Suffrage. Vol. VI (1900-1920). N.p.: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922. [LINK]
"Kato Woman Dies." Alberta Lea Evening Tribune, June 30, 1923, p. 3.
https://access-newspaperarchive-com.ezproxy.uwgb.edu:2443/ [NOTE: Need password to get into site]
"Mankato to Have 'Tag Day,'" Alberta Lea Freeborn County Standard, April 23, 1913, p. 7.
https://access-newspaperarchive-com.ezproxy.uwgb.edu:2443/ [NOTE: Need password to get into site]
Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002, Minnesota, Blue Earth County.
http://ancestry.com
Minnesota Legislative Reference Library: Legislators Past and Present, "Andrews, John Wesley 'J.W.'"
https://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail?ID=10996
"Planning for Big Suffrage Meet." Albert Lea (MN) Times Enterprise, November 29, 1916, p. 4.
https://access-newspaperarchive-com.ezproxy.uwgb.edu:2443/ [NOTE: Need password to get into site]
"Program for Women's Federation Convention." The Minneapolis Tribune, October 3,1903, Saturday edition, p. 6.
https://newspapers.mnhs.org [NOTE: Not a direct link; must search for paper and date]
"'The Simple Life,'" The Worthington Advance, October 2, 1903, p. 3.
https://newspapers.mnhs.org [NOTE: Not a direct link; must search for paper and date]
"Woman Suffrage Conference Here." Albert Lea (MN) Evening Tribune, January 24, 1916, p. 4.
https://access-newspaperarchive-com.ezproxy.uwgb.edu:2443/ [NOTE: Need password to get into site]
"Women's Clubs in Mankato." The St. Paul Globe, January 5, 1902, Sunday edition, p. 5.
https://newspapers.mnhs.org [NOTE: Not a direct link; must search for paper and date]