Representative Joseph Holt Gaines

Joseph Holt Gaines served as a Representative from West Virginia in the United States Congress from 1901 to 1911. A member of the Republican Party, Joseph Holt Gaines contributed to the legislative process during 5 terms in office.

Joseph Holt Gaines’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Joseph Holt Gaines participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Joseph Holt ‘Jodie’ Gaines (September 3, 1864 – April 12, 1951) was a U.S. representative from West Virginia. Born in Washington, D.C., Gaines moved with his parents to Fayette County, West Virginia, in 1867. He attended the West Virginia University at Morgantown and was graduated from Princeton College in 1886. He was admitted to the bar in 1887 and commenced practice in Fayetteville, West Virginia. He was appointed United States district attorney for West Virginia by President William McKinley in 1897. He resigned in 1901. Gaines was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1911). He served as chairman of the Committee on Election of President, Vice President, and Representatives (Fifty-eighth through Sixty-first Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910. He resumed the practice of law in Charleston, West Virginia. He died in Montgomery, West Virginia, April 12, 1951. He was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston, West Virginia. The town of Jodie, West Virginia was named in his honor.