US Congressman, Financier, Philanthropist. Born in Pleasantville, New York, he was invalided out of boot camp at the start of the Civil War and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1862. In the late 1860s he entered the pharmaceutical manufacturing business and subsequently amassed a personal fortune through stock speculation, oil, mining and timber interests, and real estate holdings from Florida to Alaska. Andrus's first political office was as Mayor of Yonkers, New York (1903), where he lived for many years. In 1904 he was elected as a Republican to represent New York's 19th District in the US House of Representatives and served four terms, from 1905 to 1913. He did not seek reelection in 1912 and his post-Congressional life was devoted to philanthropic pursuits. He donated large sums to Wesleyan University, turned his Yonkers estate into an orphanage, and in 1917 created the SURDNA Foundation to aid various charitable causes. Generous with others but parsimonious with himself, Andrus was nicknamed "The Millionaire Straphanger" because he rode the subway to his Manhattan office every day until he was 86. His mausoleum at Kensico cost $500,000.
US Congressman, Financier, Philanthropist. Born in Pleasantville, New York, he was invalided out of boot camp at the start of the Civil War and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1862. In the late 1860s he entered the pharmaceutical manufacturing business and subsequently amassed a personal fortune through stock speculation, oil, mining and timber interests, and real estate holdings from Florida to Alaska. Andrus's first political office was as Mayor of Yonkers, New York (1903), where he lived for many years. In 1904 he was elected as a Republican to represent New York's 19th District in the US House of Representatives and served four terms, from 1905 to 1913. He did not seek reelection in 1912 and his post-Congressional life was devoted to philanthropic pursuits. He donated large sums to Wesleyan University, turned his Yonkers estate into an orphanage, and in 1917 created the SURDNA Foundation to aid various charitable causes. Generous with others but parsimonious with himself, Andrus was nicknamed "The Millionaire Straphanger" because he rode the subway to his Manhattan office every day until he was 86. His mausoleum at Kensico cost $500,000.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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