James D. Andrews Papers 1908-c. 1950 (bulk 1929-1943)
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Organized into three series: I. James D. Andrews Series, 1912-1943; II. Frank Maxwell Andrews Series, 1908-c.1950; III. Miscellaneous Nashville Subjects Series, 1918-1941;,Arrangement: Portions of the collection are arranged in rough chronological order; much of the collection has no arrangement scheme. See series-level records for more information.

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Abstract: Series I: Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and related materials written and compiled by James D. Andrews which document his efforts and advocacy for a new airport in Nashville, Tenn. in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Contains information about Blackwood Field, McConnell Field, Sky Harbor airport near Murfreesboro, and Nashville Municipal Airport, also known as Berry Field, as well as a variety of other aviation-related topics.

Abstract: Series II: Manuscripts, including some correspondence, periodicals, newspaper clippings, and related materials about the military career of Army Air Corps general and Nashville, Tenn. native, Frank Maxwell Andrews, spanning the time period from 1908 to about 1950.

Abstract: Series III: Newsclippings spanning dates from 1918 to 1941 concerning a wide variety of subjects relating to Nashville history, including reminiscences which date from the 1880s.

Cite as: [description of item], [folder number], [series title], James D. Andrews Papers, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials.

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code).

Many items are very fragile, and must be handled with care.

Source of acquisition unknown, but donated probably before 1980;,Acc. RT-100.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives holds these associated collections: a ten-page letter from James D. Andrews to Hartwell Brown Grubbs, dated Feb. 26, 1932; the Frank Maxwell Andrews Papers; and the William Valery Andrews Papers.

James D. Andrews was born in September 1857 in Tennessee. He married Lula Adaline Maxwell around 1883. Together they had a daughter, Josephine (the future Mrs. Gillespie Sykes); and three sons, all of whom served in the military: Frank Maxwell Andrews; James D. Andrews, Jr.; and William Valery Andrews. James D. Andrews, Sr. was business manager of the Nashville Banner newspaper from 1883 to 1901 and was a real estate agent in Nashville, Tenn. in the early 1900s. He was a vocal advocate for aviation in the city, so much so that some citizens even proposed that the new Nashville airport, opened in 1936, be named in his honor. He died on March 4, 1937 at his home in Warner Place, in Belle Meade, Tenn. and was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tenn.

Frank Maxwell Andrews (called "Maxwell" by his family) was born on Feb. 3, 1884, the first child of James D. and Lula Maxwell Andrews of Nashville, Tenn. He attended public schools until the age of 13, when he entered Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, graduating in 1901. The following year, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he graduated in 1906 with the rank of second lieutenant. He served in the cavalry in the Philippines and at various locations in the United States. He married Jeanette Allen on Mar. 18, 1914. She was the daughter of General Henry T. Allen. In 1917, Andrews joined the Signal Corps serving in the Aviation Division. Although considered old for an aviator, he nevertheless rapidly advanced in rank and responsibility. On Mar. 1, 1935, he became the first Commanding General of GHQ Air Force. His work in this capacity established the modern Air Force. In March 1939, his duties at GHQ ceased and he was returned to the rank of colonel, though four months later he was given the permanent rank of brigadier general by Gen. George C. Marshall, serving on the War Department General Staff in Washington, DC. In 1941 became the first air commander to head a joint forces operation. With World War II underway, in November 1942, he became commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East; and in early 1943, he was sent to Europe with similar authority. On May 3, 1943, he died in a plane crash in Iceland. He received many posthumous honors and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He was survived by his wife, Jeanette, and three children: Allen, Josephine (Mrs. Hiette S. Williams Jr.); and Jean, who was unmarried at the time of his death, but later married Martin F. Peterson.

In English. One item in Spanish.

Series level finding aids available in repository;,item level control.

Unknown provenance. Most materials created or believed to have been collected by James D. Andrews, although a few items are dated after his death.

A detailed examination of James D. Andrews's activities relating to his advocacy for a new airport for Nashville, based upon the James D. Andrews Series of this collection, can be found in the article: Barnickel, Linda. "James D. Andrews : Nashville's Air Crusader." Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 69 (Spring 2010).

Process;,2008-2009;,Linda Barnickel;,collection consolidated from three different locations.

No further accruals are expected.