Lucien Lester Ainsworth (June 21, 1831 – April 19, 1902) was a one-term Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa's 3rd congressional district Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwestern quadrant, which roughly consists of an area stretching from Des Moines to the borders with Nebraska and Missouri. From 2013 to ...

in northeastern

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Family life

Lucien Lester Ainsworth was born on June 21, 1831, in New Woodstock, New York, the eldest child of Parmenas Ainsworth and Keziah Webber. His parents had 3 additional children, Lucretia L (1834), Walter C (1839), and Harriet C (1843). Their mother Keziah died in 1847. Lucien's father was remarried to Miss Amanda Carpenter on November 2, 1848, in Cazenovia, Madison, New York. Parmenas and Amanda had one child, Ella Kezia Ainsworth born November 15, 1850. The Ainsworth family ancestors were of English descent. Lucien's Great Grandfather, Nathan Ainsworth (1740-1776) served in the Revolutionary war and "died as a prisoner on an English ship, a martyr to the colonial cause." On December 8, 1859, Lucien Lester Ainsworth married Margaret Elizabeth McCool (1833-1921), daughter of Joseph McCool and Eleanor Nevius Lucien and Margaret had 5 children, 4 which survived to adulthood. James Walter (1861) Lucretia Eleanor "Kittie" (1863) Charles Gray "Little Charlie" (1866–68) Porter Lester "Toke" (1868) Willard Joseph (1870) Fred Lee (1873)

Education, military, and employment

Young Ainsworth attended the public schools, and the Oneida Conference Seminary, in

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove , Theophile Cazenove, the ''Agent Gener ...

. "At intervals during his course at the seminary he taught school and was said to be a very popular teacher and educator." In 1854 at age 23, after studying law, he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Madison County, New York Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016. Its county seat is Wampsville. The county is named after James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and was fir ...

. That same year he moved to

Belvidere, Illinois Belvidere is a city in Boone County, settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois, United States. Known as the 'City of Murals', Belvidere is home to several public art installations throughout the North and South State Street histo ...

, and began practicing law. Just a year later, in 1855, Ainsworth moved to Iowa and continued the practice of law in West Union, where he would remain until his death in 1902. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in 1862, Ainsworth joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

as captain of Company C, 6th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, and served three years in areas of conflict with Native American tribes in the northern

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. He and his company participated in the

Battle of Whitestone Hill The Battle of Whitestone Hill was the culmination of the 1863 operations against the Sioux or Dakota people in Dakota Territory. Brigadier General Alfred Sully attacked a village September 3–5, 1863. The Native Americans (also called Plain ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

. After leaving the Army, he returned to West Union and resumed the practice of law. In 1885 Ainsworth continued his law practice. "We find the following local item telegraphed to the Cedar Rapids Republican from Fayette, March 6, 1885. The saloon of Simon Nefzger, at Lima, in this county, was raided night before last and a small quantity of whisky found yesterday morning. Nefzger and his clerk were both arrested for selling and the trial fixed for today. They came by their attorney, L. L. AINSWORTH, of West Union, proposing to quit the business totally and forever and pay all costs and expenses, including attorney for prosecution. Being satisfied that the proposition was made in good faith and would be adhered to, the prosecution did not appear. The costs were promptly paid and there is one less saloon in Iowa. It does prohibit." In 1890 Ainsworth was mentioned again. "A grave-stone law suit was in progress here last week between J. O. VanSyckel and some parties Strawberry Pointward, which lasted a couple of days. L.L. Ainsworth chopped up law for VanSyckel, and attorney Blair, of Manchester, assisted the defense.

Political career

In the fall of 1856, Ainsworth began his political career by running for the office of Fayette County Attorney as a Democrat. "The county was overwhelmingly Republican, and he was defeated as a matter of course." LL Ainsworth served as member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

from 1860 to 1862, representing Bremer and Fayette Counties.Benjamin F. Gue, " History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century," Vol. 4 (Lucian L. Ainsworth), pp. 3 (1902). He served as member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from 1871 to 1873. In 1874, Ainsworth ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to represent Iowa's 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House. Becoming the first Iowa Democrat elected to Congress since 1854, he served in the Forty-fourth Congress. He declined to accept a renomination in 1876. He served from March 4, 1875, to March 3, 1877.

Death

He died in West Union, Fayette County, Iowa on April 19, 1902. He is buried in the West Union Cemetery, lot 155 Ancestry.com. Iowa, Cemetery Records, 1662-1999 atabase on-line Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: Works Project Administration. Graves Registration Project. Washington, D.C.: n.p., n.d. along with his Wife Margaret E. McCool Ainsworth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainsworth, Lucien Lester 1831 births 1902 deaths Members of the Sons of the American Revolution Iowa lawyers People of Iowa in the American Civil War Union Army officers Cazenovia College alumni People from Cazenovia, New York Democratic Party Iowa state senators Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Illinois lawyers People from West Union, Iowa Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Madison County, New York People from Belvidere, Illinois 19th-century American politicians Military personnel from Illinois