Rev. William Stephen Rainsford was born on October 30, 1850, in Dublin, Ireland.

He was a clergyman and author. He attended Cambridge University (B.A., 1874). Experience in mission work in the East End of London resulted in his concern for social justice. In 1869, he led a group of 800 people emigrating from the London slums to western Canada. The trip helped him develop a lifelong interest in exploration and hunting. In 1873, he was ordained deacon and, in 1874, priest, beginning his ministry as curate at St. Giles's, Norwich. In 1876, he accepted an offer to preach in New York, followed by a position at St. James's Cathedral in Toronto, Canada. In 1882, he was appointed a rector of St. George's Church in New York City, a position he held for the next 25 years. He reorganized it as a free church and enlarged its work by numerous activities to meet the needs of the district. He was active in civic affairs and in touch with the labour movement. He published the book "Camping and Hunting in the Shoshone" (1896).

In 1878, he married Emily Alma Green (1855–1923), and in 1926, he married Harriette Rogers (1870–1963). He died on December 17, 1933, in New York, New York.