Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Ainsworth, Captain John C. June 6, 1822 - December 30, 1893
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com January 18, 2011, 2:19 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 708 - 709
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     CAPTAIN JOHN C. AINSWORTH.  A keen intellect, splendid poise and clear 
vision united to make Captain John C. Ainsworth preeminent in connection with 
the development of the west. He did not rejoice only in the acquirement of 
material wealth but in the thrill of building for the future and of reaching 
out along lines which constituted a source of growth, power and improvement in 
the northwest. A nature of culture and refinement enabled him to understand 
his fellowmen and to appreciate their worth and, moreover, he knew the value 
of character building that comes through right living whereby man grows and 
develops physically, mentally, morally.

     Captain Ainsworth made his way to the Pacific coast soon after the 
discovery of gold in California. His birth occurred at Springboro, Warren 
county, Ohio, June 6, 1822, and when he was but seven or eight years of age 
his father, George Ainsworth, passed away, so that he early began to earn his 
own living. When still in his teens he was employed on the Mississippi river 
and there gained rapid promotion, becoming a pilot and subsequently master of 
a passenger steamship sailing between St. Louis and points up the river, Mark 
Twain being his pilot. When he learned of the discovery of gold in California 
he determined to make his way to the coast and journeyed westward in company 
with William C. Ralston, afterward one of the notable bankers and financiers 
of San Francisco, establishing the Bank of California and building the Palace 
Hotel.

     The west, as Captain Ainsworth foresaw, gave him his opportunity. From 
San Francisco he proceeded northward to Oregon, where his previous river 
experience stood him in good stead, enabling him to take command of the Lot 
Whitcomb. From that time forward through many years he was one of the 
distinguished figures in marine circles in the northwest and his business of 
that character grew and developed in accord with the rapid settlement of this 
section of the country. He built up a great transportation company and was its 
leading spirit from the beginning until the Oregon Steamship & Navigation 
Company was merged with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, and of the 
new corporation Captain Ainsworth became president, so continuing until 1881, 
when the business was purchased by the Villard syndicate for five million 
dollars. This did not terminate Captain Ainsworth's connection with 
transportation interests, however, for he realized that shipping facilities 
must ever constitute the basis of a country's growth and commercial 
development. Accordingly he became a prominent factor in the construction of 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad from California to the south, getting the engine 
to Puget Sound twenty-four hours before the expiration of a contract that 
granted the railroad valuable land subsidy. He personally furnished the funds 
for this undertaking and he thus contributed in notable measure to the 
development of the section in which he operated. Few men have displayed such 
keen vision and sound judgment in recognizing opportunities and in foreseeing 
the growth of the northwest. His business affairs adequately met conditions 
and utilized the chances for expansion. In 1881 he erected the Ainsworth block 
in Portland at the corner of Oak and Third streets and extended his activities 
to Oakland, California, through the establishment of the Central Bank in that 
city, remaining its president until his death. In 1883 he organized the 
Ainsworth National Bank of Portland and upon his financial assistance were 
built many of the most important business projects of the city. So sound was 
his opinion in financial matters, so keen his discernment and so vital his 
spirit of enterprise and progress that his name became familiar in financial 
circles not only in the west but also in the east. One feature of his success 
lay in the fact that he always had the cooperation and support of employes and 
this was due to the fact that his business policy was "give the boys good 
salaries." He always believed in a fair living wage and he did not hesitate to 
consider the opinions of those who were in his employ. As the years passed and 
the northwest developed he made extensive investments in real estate in Tacoma 
and he became an active factor in the building of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad Company between the Columbia river and Puget Sound. He figured 
largely in banking activity in California after his removal to that state in 
1880 and he was largely instrumental in the development of Redondo Beach, 
making it one of the attractive seaside resorts of Los Angeles.

     Having lost his first wife six months after their marriage, Captain 
Ainsworth wedded Jane White, whose father, Judge S. S. White, was a pioneer 
settler of Oregon City, establishing his home there in 1845. Captain and Mrs. 
Ainsworth became parents of a son, George J. The mother died in 1863 and 
subsequently, in San Francisco, Miss Fanny Babbitt, daughter of General Edwin 
Babbitt, U. S. A., became the wife of Captain Ainsworth and the mother of six 
children: John C., mentioned elsewhere in this work; H. B., of San Francisco, 
California; Laura, the deceased wife of John S. Baker, of Tacoma, Washington; 
Daisy, wife of Percy T. Morgan, of San Francisco; Maud, wife of General E. B. 
Babbitt, of Santa Barbara, California; and Belle, the wife of Ralph Jenkins, 
also of this city. Captain Ainsworth passed away at his home near Oakland, 
California, December 30, 1893. His life had been an exemplification of the 
most manly qualities and purposes. He had loyally followed the teachings of 
Masonry and Ainsworth Chapter of the Rose Croix was named in his honor. He had 
the distinction of being the first grand master of the grand lodge of Oregon 
and for years was captain and inspector general of the supreme council of the 
southern jurisdiction of Oregon, the highest post that could be conferred upon 
him in the state. To him was also accorded the honorary thirty-third degree. 
He never encroached upon the rights or privileges of others and it is doubtful 
if he ever weighed an act of his life in the scale of policy. His entire 
course was prompted by high principles and a broad sense of justice. It was 
said that from his employes he received a degree of affection that was almost 
filial in its nature. He met every individual fearlessly and every situation 
with frankness. He utilized the advantages that nature offered in the 
upbuilding of the great empire of the northwest, and though many years have 
passed since his life's labors were ended, the present generation is 
benefiting by his efforts and his progressive spirit, as will generations to 
come.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/ainswort1368gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/

File size: 7.4 Kb