Laban Ainsworth (July 19, 1757 – March 17, 1858) was an American

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. He holds the record for the longest serving pastorate in American history. He served as pastor in

Jaffrey, New Hampshire Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,320 at the 2020 census. The main village in town, where 3,058 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place (CDP) a ...

from 1782 to 1858, a period of 76 years.

Biography

Laban Ainsworth was born in

Woodstock, Connecticut Woodstock is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The populat ...

on July 19, 1757, to Captain William Ainsworth and his wife, Mary Ainsworth. As a result of suffering a severe attack of scarlet fever in childhood, young Laban's right arm became withered and "nearly useless to him for life." As a result of this disability, he was able to focus on his

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

. While he hoped to enter

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1775, the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

prevented him from doing this and instead caused him to attend

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

—from which he graduated in 1778. At

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...

, he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

under the guidance of

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Stephen West. He also preached for two years at

Spencertown, New York Spencertown is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the town of Austerlitz, New York, Austerlitz, Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. Its ZIP code is 12165. The Daniel and Clarissa Baldwin House, Pratt ...

, where he served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

for a few months with

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

McKinstry's

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

in the American Revolutionary Army. In 1782, he became pastor of Jaffrey, New Hampshire—a position that he held until his death 76 years later at age 100. In 1787, he married Mary Minot (1761–1845) and had two children with her, Sarah (1789–1857) and William (1792–1842).

References

1757 births 1858 deaths 18th-century American Christian clergy 19th-century American Christian clergy American men centenarians History of Christianity in the United States People from Jaffrey, New Hampshire {{US-Christian-clergy-stub