Gaston, Joseph.  "The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912."  Vol. 4. 
Chicago, Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. p. 6.
 
CAPTAIN JOHN C. AINSWORTH

     Among the builders of the great northwest Captain John C. Ainsworth was
prominent, taking active part in the development of the material resources of
the country and the promotion of commercial and financial interests. His
initiative spirit and notable ability carried him into important relations and
the breadth and scope of his activities were such that his labors constituted an
important feature in the history of Portland and of the Pacific coast. For more
than four decades he, was identified with this section of the country, coming to
the west soon after the discovery of gold in California.
     He was at that time a young man of twenty-eight years, his birth having
occurred at Springboro, Warren county, Ohio, on the 6th of June, 1822. He was
only seven or eight years of age when he lost his father, George Ainsworth, and
at an early age began providing for his own support, being employed on the
Mississippi river when yet in his teens. His ability and faithfulness won him
rapid promotion until be became pilot and subsequently master on a passenger
steamer sailing between St. Louis and upriver points. He was thus engaged at the
time of the discovery of gold in California, and recognizing the possibilities
for labor and capital in that state he arranged his plans to make a trip to the
coast, whither he journeyed in company with William C. Ralston, who became one
of the distinguished bankers and financiers of the great west. The friendship
between the two men continued throughout their remaining days. Mr. Ralston,
however, remained in San Francisco where he figured as one of the pioneer
bankers of the city, while Mr. Ainsworth went to Oregon to take command of the
Lot Whitcomb the first steamer that ran on the Willamette and Columbia rivers.
He remained for many years thereafter a center figure in marine interests in
this section of the country, developing his business in proportion to the rapid
growth and settlement of the northwest. To his thorough and practical knowledge
of the business in all its details was due the marvelous success achieved by the
great transportation company in which he was President and the leading spirit
from the time of its inception until the Oregon Steamship & Navigation Company
was merged with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. Of the latter, Captain
Ainsworth continued as president until 1881, when it was sold to the Villard
Syndicate for five million dollars. Realizing that transportation facilities
must ever constitute the foundation for growth and development in a new country,
he was instrumental in building the Missouri Pacific Railroad from California to
the south, getting the first train through to Puget Sound twenty-four hours
before the exploration of a valuable land subsidy. The means for this
undertaking he personally furnished.
     His sound business judgment was seldom, if ever at fault in any transaction
and his keen insight into business propositions enabled him to look beyond the
exigencies of the moment to the possibilities of the future, so that he labored
not alone for his own generation but for those who follow after. His activities
touched many lines all of which profited by the stimulus of his effort and
business discernment. In 1881 he erected the Ainsworth building in Portland, at
the corner of Oak and Third streets and about the same time established the
Central Bank of Oakland, California, of which he remained the president until
his death. In 1883 he organized the Ainsworth National Bank of Portland. He
financed many projects which have constituted important elements in the
upbuilding of the northwest, and his activity and enterprise enabled him to
carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertook. He came to be
known as a prominent figure in American finance, his ability being recognized in
financial circles in the east as well as in the west. He always maintained a
liberal policy with his employees, giving to them always a fair compensation for
their labor, and it was one of the well known axioms of his business policy
"give the boys good salaries."
     Following his retirement from business life The Dalles Inland Empire said
of him editorially: "He has been at all times a gentlemanly public servant and
faithful custodian of the interests of his fellow stockholders and a most
equitable and merciful employer. In fine, he has been a good friend to friends
and a semi-foe to enemies. His broad sense of justice has made him the object of
an almost filial degree of affections from his employees and to his sagacity in
making three volunteer reductions of freight rates without compulsion in five
years time, the growth and expansion of the western empire are largely
attributable.
     Captain Ainsworth was a large investor in Tacoma real estate and was
prominently identified with the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad
Company between the Columbia river and Puget Sound. Following his removal to
California in 1880, he was largely interested in local banking and in the
initiation and promotion of other business enterprises in that state. He
financed the project, making Redondo Beach what it is today÷one of the finest
seaside resorts on the Pacific coast, expending nearly three million dollars in
this undertaking and later sold it to H. E. Huntington. His plans were always
wisely formulated and carefully executed and he displayed a notable mastery of
detail that enabled him to use each point of the business to its best advantage.
     Captain Ainsworth was married three times; his first wife died in six
months after their marriage. His second wife was Jane White, a daughter of Judge
S. S. White, a pioneer of 1845, who settled in Oregon City. To this marriage was
born George J. Ainsworth, who is later spoken of in this work. Mrs. Ainsworth
died in 1863. He was then married in San Francisco to Miss Fanny Babbitt, a
daughter of General Edwin Babbitt of the United States Army. Unto this marriage
were born six children: J. C. Ainsworth, of Portland; H. B. Ainsworth, of Los
Angeles, California; Laura Ainsworth, deceased, the wife of John S. Baker, of
Tacoma, Washington; Daisy Ainsworth, wife of Percy T. Morgan, of San Francisco,
California; Maud Ainsworth of Portland; and Belle Ainsworth, wife of Ralph
Jenkins, of Portland.
     The death of Captain Ainsworth occurred December 30, 1893, at his home near
Oakland, California. He was for years a prominent Mason and Ainsworth Chapter of
Rose Croix is named in his honor. He was the first grand master from this state
and was for years captain and inspector general of the supreme council of the
southern jurisdiction in the state of Oregon, the highest post of honor possible
of attainment in the state. The honorary thirty-third degree was also conferred
upon him. While he attained prominence and eminent success in business, his own
advancement was never at the sacrifice of other interests and he retained, as
few men have done, the friendship and good-will of his business associates and
colleagues. Moreover, those who knew him socially, entertained for him the
warmest regard.  In his life he embodied the principles of upright manhood and
citizenship, and his labors were ever of a character that contributed not alone
to individual success but also to the general welfare and prosperity. His name
is written high on the roll of the honored dead who were among the builders and
promoters of the great northwest.


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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.