He was born on May 6, 1840, in
Geneva,
Ontario County, New York, the son of Rev. John Raines II (1818–1877) and Mary (Remington) Raines (1815–1889). His father was a
circuit rider clergy. He was educated at
Canandaigua Academy and
Albany Law School, from where he graduated in 1861. Admitted to the bar upon graduation, Raines set up a
law practice in
Geneva, New York. During the
American Civil War, Raines formed and served as
captain of Company G,
85th New York Volunteer Infantry and served in both the
Army of the Potomac and the Army of North Carolina. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly (Ontario Co.) in
1881,
1882 and
1885; and of the
New York State Senate (28th D.) from 1886 to 1889, sitting in the
109th,
110th,
111th and
112th New York State Legislatures. In addition he was President of the
Board of Education for the Canandaigua school district from 1887 until his death. He was a delegate to the
1888 Republican National Convention. He was elected to the
51st and
52nd United States Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1893. Afterwards he returned to the State Senate where he sat from 1895 until his death, being a member of the
118th (26th D.),
119th,
120th,
121st,
122nd,
123rd,
124th,
125th,
126th,
127th,
128th,
129th,
130th,
131st and
132nd New York State Legislatures (all 42nd D.); and was
President pro tempore from 1903 until his death. He was an alternate delegate to the
1900 and
1904 Republican National Conventions. On December 5, 1906, he became Acting
Lieutenant Governor of New York for the remainder of the month after the resignation of
M. Linn Bruce who was appointed to the
New York Supreme Court by Governor
Frank W. Higgins. Raines died on December 16, 1909, in
Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York. Raines was buried in
Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua. New York State Treasurer
Thomas Raines (1842–1924) and State Senator
George Raines (1846–1908) were his brothers. ==Legacy==