Hon. Charles Oscar Andrews, judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, and now a resident of Orlando, is not only a strong advocate for law enforcement, but a firm supporter of the Government fundamentally. The law represents the stability, the habit of our social life as opposed to creative, reformatory energy, and therefore those who are its representatives must be men of profound learning, fully habituated to its interpretation and enforcement. No man should be elevated to the bench until he has proven his worth as an attorney. The bestowal of the ermine is a reward of merit, and no man is more worthy of this honor than Judge Andrews, who has a long and useful career behind him and is living in a present of able activity.
Judge Andrews was born March 7, 1877, and is a son of John and Mary Andrews. His father was a native of Georgia and a son of Thomas Andrews, a native of North Carolina, and of Scotch-Irish lineage. The mother of Judge Andrews was born in Alabama, and is of Swedish and Scotch ancestors. The grandfather of the Judge came to Florida from Georgia in 1841, when Florida was a territory and settled on a farm in Holmes County. His father served for many years as county treasurer. He fought with gallantry as a cavalryman in the Confederate Army during the war between the states, was a democrat in his political convictions and. with Mrs. Andrews, belonged to the Missionary Baptist Church. They had ten children, of whom Charles Oscar is the seventh.
Judge Andrews was reared on the home farm and primarily educated in the public schools. He later attended the University of Florida from which he received a diploma of graduation as a member of the class of 1901, and for seven years was a teacher in the public schools, in the meantime applying himself during his leisure hours to the study of law. Admitted to the bar in 1907, and serving two years in the comptroller’s office in Tallahassee he commenced practice in Walton County during the year 1909. Before he had followed his profession a year he became judge of the Criminal Courts of Record, an office he held for two years. He was at that time appointed by Park Trammell, the attorney-general, as assistant attorney-general, a position which he retained for eight years. In 1919, at the request of the bar of the district, he was appointed Circuit Court judge of the Seventeenth Judicial District of Florida, a district in which he had never resided and was nominated for reappointment without opposition. In 1922 he assumed the position for a term of six years. Upon entering upon this court bench Judge Andrews established his residence at Orlando. In 1921 he was elected president of the Florida State Bar Association. His political sentiments make him a democrat. His religious connection is with the Presbyterian Church, and fraternally he is a Rotarian and a Mason. For four years he was secretary of bills in the State Senate. During the Spanish-American war Judge Andrews was captain of Company M, First Florida Regiment, but was not called upon to leave the state with his contingent.
In 1909 Judge Andrews married Miss Margaret Spears, of Tallahassee, Florida, and they have two living children.
Cutler, H. G., ed. History of Florida: Past and Present, Volume III. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1923, pp. 342-343.
Burial: Greenwood Cemetery, Orlando