When James Andrews was born in 1824, in Pennsylvania, United States, his father, Ezra Andrews, was 37 and his mother, Mary Louisa Langdon, was 23. He married Achsa Ann Van Patten on 21 September 1853, in Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 5 daughters. He lived in Lind, Waupaca, Wisconsin, United States in 1860 and Lebanon, Smith, Kansas, United States in 1900. He died on 15 March 1910, in Auburn, Nemaha, Nebraska, United States, at the age of 86, and was buried in Sheridan Cemetery, Auburn, Nemaha, Nebraska, United States.