Find-a-Grave struck again, although I was minding my own business

One of my favorite Rankin researchers sent a Christmas Eve email that began, “I was minding my own business, when …”

I was grinning by then because I knew in my bones that what followed would be some variation of “genealogy intervened.” Indeed, it was. Since you are reading this family history blog, you probably also saw it coming.

Another friend zapped me when I was otherwise occupied by sending a link to a Find-a-Grave site for a cemetery in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. One of the graves purports to be that of a man who almost certainly never set foot — much less an entire corpse — in Allegheny County.

I will proceed gingerly. The last time I did anything concerning Find-a-Grave, I received an email from an angry man in a western state awash with militia. His last email said he would keep me apprised of his “confirmed kills” in the “impending civil war.”[1]

The recently received Find-a-Grave entry is allegedly the grave of the William Rankin who died in Franklin County, Pennsylvania in 1792, son of Adam and Mary Steele Alexander Rankin. William’s wife was Mary Huston Rankin, named as a beneficiary in William’s 1792 will. According to the Find-a-Grave poster, Mary died in 1790, two years earlier.

These claims raise questions. Why would a man who died in Franklin County be buried in a town 150 miles away?[2] And why would he have made his wife a beneficiary of his 1792 will if she had already died in 1790?

Someone out there must have answers to these questions, because the Find-a-Grave site for Round Hill Cemetery in Allegheny County says this unusual couple is buried there.  William’s tombstone is difficult to read.[3]  Other than the boilerplate “DIED” and “in the ____ year of his age,” the clearest information is the name “William Rankin.” There is no middle name. His date of death looks like 18___. It appears to be 1812 or 1813 in a sharpened and printed image. If that is correct, this is surely not the tombstone of a man who died near Greencastle in 1792, unless the trip to Elizabeth, Allegheny County, took waaaaay longer than one would expect.

There is an intestate estate for a William Rankin in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County about that time. The Allegheny Probate Proceedings Index gives the date of his Inventory and Appraisement as 1813.[4] Because the I&A is customarily done soon after an estate is submitted to probate, a William Rankin of Allegheny County most likely died in 1812 or 1813.

More evidence lies in the cemetery (no pun intended). The DAR did a survey of tombstones at Round Hill Presbyterian Church near Elizabeth in the summer of 1940. The DAR listed a tombstone for “Rankin, William, d. Feb. 11, 1813, aged 69 years.” We can reasonably conclude that was the same William Rankin whose inventory was taken in 1813. The DAR also lists “Rankin, Mary wife of William d. July 22, 1808 in 62nd year.” Mary definitely died before her husband. The couple in the Round Hill cemetery cannot have been William and Mary Huston Rankin of Franklin County.

William’s tombstone provides additional evidence. The marker is an unadorned rectangular solid with an inscription in this format:

NAME

DIED

Month, day, year

in the ___ year of his age

There are two more Rankin tombstones in Round Hill cemetery with the identical unadorned shape, format, and “typeface.” One is for Andrew Rankin and another is for Mary Rankin. It appears from the hard-to-read inscriptions that both died in the 1790s. The 1940 DAR survey says that Andrew died in 1794 at age two, and that Mary died in 1795 at age 14. Find-a-Grave claims that both were children of “William and Mary Rankin.” Given the remarkably similar tombstones for William, Andrew, and young Mary, the three were clearly family.

That brings us to the family Bible of William and Mary Huston Rankin of Franklin County.[5] It identifies their children and their dates of birth as follows. Information other than names and dates is from my research, not the Bible.

    • Adam Rankin, b. 10 Nov 1762. He was a physician. He went to Henderson Co., KY, married three times, and had many children.
    • Archibald Rankin, b. 10 Apr 1764. Archibald stayed in Franklin County until he died. His wife was Agnes Long.[6]
    • James Rankin, b. 20 Apr 1766. He went to Centre County, PA with his brothers William, John, and Jeremiah. All four of them inherited land there.
    • William Rankin, b. 5 Nov? 1770. He also went to Centre County with three of his brothers. He married #1 Abigail McGinley, #2 Susannah (probably Huston).
    • Betsy Rankin, b. 13 Oct 1774. No further record.
    • David Rankin, b. 5 Feb 1777. His wife was Frances Campbell, daughter of Dougal Campbell. David and his family migrated to Des Moines, Iowa.
    • John Rankin, b. 1 May 1779. He went to Centre County with James, William, and Jeremiah.
    • Jeremiah Rankin, b. 26 Nov 1783. He also went to Centre County.

William’s family Bible doesn’t name either a son Andrew or a daughter Mary. William named each of the above children, and his wife Mary, in his 1792 will.[7] The Andrew who died in 1794 and young Mary who died in 1795, both buried in Round Hill Cemetery in Allegheny County, were not the children of the William who wrote his will in 1792. According to the family Bible, William died on October 25, 1792.

Unfortunately, all of the information about William at the Find-a-Grave link is unsourced. That is typical. Most of it is clearly erroneous. You’ve got to laugh, then wonder how the Find-a-Grave poster strayed so far from the facts.

Here is what Find-a-Grave says about William, shown in italics. My comments are in normal typeface. If anyone has evidence supporting the Find-a-Grave claims, please share it.

“Birth 1713.” There is no evidence for an exact birth year for William Rankin, son of Adam, husband of Mary Huston. William’s first appearance in the records seems to have been a 1749 warrant for a tract in Antrim Township, Franklin Co.[8] That doesn’t provide much of a clue.

“County Antrim, Northern Ireland.”  There is no evidence for William’s exact place of birth. If Mary Steele Alexander Rankin was his mother, he was definitely born in the colonies, because Adam and Mary married there.[9]  

“Death 30 Nov 1792 (age 78 -79).” That is the date William’s will was proved in Franklin County court. The odds that someone’s will was presented in court the exact day he or she died are virtually nil. The family Bible says that the William whose wife was Mary Huston died on Oct. 25, 1792. Submitting a will to probate about four weeks after the testator died falls within a normal range.

“Franklin County, PA.” That is surely correct. William, son of Adam and husband of Mary Huston, lived and owned land in Franklin, and his will was necessarily probated there.

“Burial Round Hill Cemetery, Elizabeth, Allegheny Co.” Well. Some William Rankin who died in 1812-13 is buried in Round Hill Cemetery. I will bet real money that he is not William Rankin, son of Adam and husband of Mary Huston Rankin.

Continuing with Find-a-Grave information:

“William Steele Rankin was born in 1713 in County Antrium (sic) in the Northeast part of Northern Ireland. He was the son of Adam Rankin, born 16 Jul 1688 in Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire, Scotland and died 4 May 1747 in Lancaster Co., PA and his wife Mary Steele, born about 1692 in Lancaster, Lancaster Co., PA and died 21 Sep 1747 in Somerset Co., PA.”

Let’s take this one alleged fact at a time.

… there is no evidence in a county or Bible record, or county history books, that William Rankin, son of Adam, ever used a middle initial — much less a middle name. It would have been highly unusual for a man born in the early 18th century to have a middle name. They didn’t come into common usage until the 19th century. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had no middle name, for pete’s sake.

… William Rankin, a son of Adam and Mary Steele Alexander Rankin, was definitely born in what is now Pennsylvania or Maryland. Adam and Mary married in the colonies sometime between August 1718 and Sept 1724.[10]

… there is no evidence in colonial records for Adam Rankin’s birth date or place. There is no recorded birth of an Adam Rankin (including variant spellings) in the Church of Scotland records in the county of Stirlingshire between 1680 and 1690.[11]

… Adam’s will was dated 4 May 1747 and proved 21 Sep 1747 in Lancaster County. The odds that he wrote his will the day he died are virtually zero. The probate records prove only that Adam died sometime between 4 May 1747, when he wrote his will, and 21 Sep 1747, when it was submitted to the court.

… Adam’s wife was definitely Mary Steele Alexander, widow of James Alexander. If anyone has any evidence for her dates or places of birth and death, please share.

Here’s hoping you agree that the Find-a-Grave poster erred when he or she identified the William Rankin buried in Round Hill Presbyterian Cemetery as William (wife Mary Huston Rankin), a son of Adam and Mary Steele Alexander.

But that raises the obvious question: who the heck are the William and Mary Rankin buried in Round Hill Cemetery? They are probably William and Mary Stewart Rankin, who were married in Franklin Co., PA on 28 Feb 1774.[12] A follow-up article on that family will follow. Eventually.

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[1] See the article titled “Family History Stories: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” at this link.

[2] The Franklin County Rankins lived on Conococheague Creek near Greencastle, Franklin Co., PA. The distance from Greencastle to Elizabeth, Allegheny Co. by the fastest current route is about 150 miles.

[3] See an image of his tombstone  here. The middle name is pure fiction.

[4] Allegheny County, PA Probate Records, 1683-1994, Proceedings Index 1778-1971, Vol. 30, page 305, Block 5. It notes an Inventory and Appraisement, estate of William Rankin, dec’d, in 1813. FamilySearch.org Film No. 877053, Image No. 775, Block 5.

[5] Disc 4, Cloyd tapes. Unfortunately, I have lost my reference to the Cloyd disk page numbers, for which I apologize. Wading through those disks is a challenge. The information in the Bible appears in the form of chart accompanying a letter dated May 6, 1954, from Rev. J. O. Reed, pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Opelousas, LA, to Flossie Cloyd. Rev. Reed, a descendant of William and Mary Huston Rankin, was the owner of the Bible and drew the chart.

[6] Records of the Upper West Conocochegue Presbyterian Church show Archibald Rankin’s marriage to Agnes Long on 9 March 1790 and his death on 24 Jun 1845 at age 81.

[7] Franklin Co., PA Will Book A: 256, will of William Rankin of Antrim Township, Franklin Co., PA, dated 20 Oct 1792 and proved 28 Nov 1792.

[8] See p. 183, Land Warrants for Lancaster County, PA here.

[9] The country of Northern Ireland wasn’t established until May 1921. See an article titled “Who Are the Scots-Irish, Anyway?” here. The Find-a-Grave poster probably meant what was then called the Province of Ulster in the northernmost part of Ireland.

[10] See the citations in Notes 4 through 7 and the accompanying main text in this article.

[11] You can open a free account and search Scottish birth and baptism records on a website called  “ScotlandsPeople.” .The only Adam Rankin whose birth/baptism is recorded in Church of Scotland records in 1688 was born in Dunfermline Parish, County of Fife, a son of Robert Rankin and Agnes Smith.

[12] Records of the Upper West Conococheague Presbyterian Church, Franklin Co., PA.

Eleanor “Ellen” Alexander Rankin’s tombstone

Reorganizing family history research files sometimes produces a surprise. My ongoing coronavirus cleaning orgy turned up a tombstone photograph we took at the Goshen Cemetery during a trip to North Carolina in 2008.

Samuel Rankin, his wife Eleanor “Ellen” Alexander Rankin, and a host of their relatives are buried there. A book published a number of years ago about North Carolina Rankins asserted that Sam and Eleanor’s tombstones had vanished. We couldn’t find Sam’s, but Eleanor’s is there, big as Dallas. It may be a replacement tombstone, considering its condition compared to adjacent stones. Interestingly, the Find-a-Grave website in the Goshen cemetery has no listing for either Eleanor/Ellen or Sam.

This photograph is the best image Gary could produce after improving the contrast … really a disappointment, but here ’tis.

About the only thing you can clearly read from the image reproduced here is her name: Ellen Rankin. From my paper print of the enhanced photo, however, one can clearly discern the following …

“In Memory of ELLEN RANKIN who died Nov. 26th 1805 Aged 62 Years 7 Months and 10 days.”

The rest of the inscription from my original notes is, “No ill repine at death no more But with a cheerful gasp resign To the cold dungeoen of the grave These dying withering limbs of mine.”

Assuming the dates are correct — children don’t always know the actual age of a parent, and a replacement stone introduces another possibility for errors — Ellen was born April 16, 1743. My current reading of the photograph is the same as I wrote in my contemporaneous notes in 2008.

The only other evidence I have found about Eleanor/Ellen’s birthdate:

  • LDS Film #882,938, item 2, “Pre-1914 Cemetery Inscription Survey, Gaston Co., prepared by the Historical Records Survey Service Division, Works Progress Administration.” That survey recorded the inscription as “Ellen Rankin b. 6 Apr 1740 d. 26 Jan 1802.”
  • The Rowan County court (Order Book 2, page 90) allowed “Elinor” Alexander to choose her mother Ann as her guardian on October 22, 1755 after the death of her father James Alexander. That would mean Eleanor/Ellen was born by 1741, because a child had to be at least 14 to choose her own guardian. The only way the court would  know “Elinor’s” age for certain would have been a statement by her mother.

I’m sharing this because a photograph is always fun and Find-a-Grave doesn’t have it. Also,  both Eleanor’s correct name and age are a source of controversy among Rankin researchers, as I discussed in a previous article.

Among the available evidentiary sources about her age — (1)  the tombstone as of 2008, (2) the WPA survey of pre-1914 tombstones, and (3) Ann Alexander’s statement of her daughter “Elinor’s” age to a court in 1755 — the third seems to me the most credible. If anyone on earth (!) knows your birthday, it’s your mom. Thus, I continue to give Eleanor’s birth year as 1740-41.

Wish the photograph had turned out better. See you on down the road.

Robin

 

 

Family history stories: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Most family history researchers have anecdotes about genealogy itself – their own stories, not their ancestors.’ Even the mainstream media ventures into genealogical territory. Here are some of the most memorable I have run across (or experienced) lately.

The good-and-funny: I know you, and you’re dead

I’ve posted this before, from my friend and distant cousin Roberta Estes. It is surely one of a kind. In her own words:

“My favorite [story] is that I’m dead. I wrote to the person assuring them I’m not, and they accused me of being a crook, to put it nicely. (They were anything but nice.) They told me they knew me and I’m dead. It was the most bizarre discussion I’ve ever had. I told them I’ve never heard of them and they said “of course not, you’re dead.”

I finally had to contact the company and ask them to remove my death information from that person’s tree because the fact that I was “dead” allowed my private information to be shown to others. I did this multiple times. They kept killing me off again. Seriously.”

Asked whether the whole thing was a joke, Roberta responded:

“Nope, they were dead serious, pardon the pun. They were angry with ME for wanting them to remove my death date in their tree. I suggested that perhaps it was another Roberta Estes and they very condescendingly said, ‘No, that’s not possible, I know you and you’re dead.’”

I was compelled to ask Roberta if she was already dead when she and I met about twenty years ago in Halifax, Virginia for family history research. I would love to be able to say that I met an actual ghost in the flesh, so to speak.

The bad: no good deed goes unpunished

This story from the Washington Post might make your head spin. Some three decades ago, a medical student in Oregon – now a Dr. Cleary — responded to a request for sperm donors. The lab reportedly assured him that his donations would be used only on the east coast, five times at most. Both promises turned out to be false.

Fast forward to the present. Dr. Cleary’s wife gave him an autosomal test kit last Christmas. Results have identified (as of the time the WAPO article was published) nineteen offspring conceived with Dr. Cleary’s donated sperm. There may be more in the offing. Many are located in the northwest, where he still lives.

He sounds like a genuinely nice guy who believed he was doing a helpful thing by donating. Some married couples and single women have no alternative for the woman to conceive except via artificial insemination.

Dr. Cleary responded warmly to the first few offspring who contacted him. Now apparently a bit overwhelmed, he has called time out on communications. Imagine the implications. He has children in the same area where offspring are turning up. What about the possibility a “new” offspring might be dating one of his previously known children, a half-sibling? What do you do about that? Demand a DNA test before any first date? Can you grasp suddenly learning that you have at least nineteen other children? Or at least eighteen half-siblings? I lack the imagination.

Finally, the truly ugly

I’m going to use phony names and locations, for reasons which will become obvious.

A couple of months ago, I received this email, verbatim, in toto:

 “Whatever prompted you to demote my grandfather from Captain to Sergeant?”

Huh? I had no clue what he was talking about. I should have ignored it, because the underlying anger is obvious. Unfortunately, I was curious, and the sender’s surname was one of my lines. Let’s call him Mr. Watkins. I was hopeful that I might have found another recruit for Watkins YDNA testing: I am always on the lookout for living male Burkes, Rankins, Lindseys, Winns, et al. who might be willing to test. Consequently, I responded.

Turned out that I had been researching a Watkins family who migrated from Virginia to the Ohio Territory. I ran across a Find-a-Grave listing for a Civil War soldier named Thomas Watkins. Find-a-Grave had him listed as a Captain, but I had seen evidence that he was a Sergeant. I provided the evidence to Find-a-Grave without requesting any change. Find-a-Grave changed his rank to Sergeant. This infuriated my correspondent.

I offered to ask Find-a-Grave to revise the entry if I were wrong (a waste of good will). However, a graves registration form filled out by the soldier’s son gave his rank as Sergeant. Also, a listing of his company roster identified Thomas Watkins as a sergeant in Captain Chamberlain’s company of Union soldiers.

I duly reported the evidence to Mr. Watkins and suggested he provide his contrary evidence to Find-a-Grave. He declined to do so. He clearly didn’t care about results – he just wanted to harass. His proof was a family heirloom Civil War pistol engraved “Captain” on the handle. His emails expressed his outrage that (1) I did not immediately recall providing the info to Find-a-Grave, (2) it took me some time to relocate the evidence, and (3) I was “messing with” someone else’s “family tree,” which he found reprehensible. Oh, and he has “no intention” of DNA testing.

The exchange ended with this email from him:

“In the impending civil war, I will keep you tight on my rank and my confirmed kills.”

One of my friends deems that a death threat. I do not. Her concern nevertheless inspired me to research Mr. Watkins and his family, to determine whether he was sufficiently nearby to add me to his list of confirmed kills even before his (probably longed-for) civil war commences.

Sergeant Watkins was his great-great grandfather rather than his grandfather. After the Civil War, the Sergeant lived in a medium-sized community in a midwestern state. His son and grandson were attorneys in the same county. His great-grandson was an attorney and a judge there.

My correspondent, a son of the judge, left for a small town (population less than 300) in a western state that is a hotbed of militia activity. The town apparently consists mostly of house trailers, dilapidated late model pickups, propane tanks, one bar, one liquor store, and a church. He commented multiple times in a local online discussion string, making anti-semitic comments, using the “C” word, referring to “faggot liberals,” and inviting people to fight. Another person on the string implied that he might be a meth addict.

In response to his email saying that he would keep me informed about his rank and confirmed kills, my initial impulse was to reply as follows, tongue planted firmly in cheek:

“In the impending civil war, you need to watch your six — because there is a descendant of Captain Chamberlain out there looking for a descendant of the sonuvabitch who stole his service pistol.”

My better angels vetoed the idea.

On that note, I’m outtahere. See you on down the road.

Robin

 

Will the “correct” David Rankin of Franklin Co., PA please stand up?

I told my husband at breakfast one day that I was working on an article to correct bad information about some Rankins in the Pennsylvania Archives 5th Series.

He put down his fork, arching his eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? You’re taking on the Archives? That’s practically sacred scripture among Pennsylvania family history researchers.”

“Well,” I said (yeah, I realize this sounds prissy), “the Archives has confused two men named David Rankin who were contemporaries in the late 1700s – early 1800s.”

“So,” said Gary, “who would care, anyway?”

“Hmmmm,” I temporized, “perhaps descendants of either of the two men? Or someone who is trying to track early Rankin families around, as I am doing? Perhaps people with D.A.R. or S.A.R. aspirations? One of these two men was a soldier in 1780, but the other was too young.”

“You realize you will receive a dozen comments from people saying there are ‘many online trees’ showing you are wrong?”

I dug in. I’m not a Scots-Irish Rankin for nothing. “You’re undoubtedly right,” I responded, “but I’m writing the article anyway.”

Here ‘tis. It includes (1) a very brief chart, (2) the misinformation in the Archives, (3) the bottom line, (4) the argument supporting the bottom line, and (5) some additional information about this family just for fun – including the only photo I could find of a descendant. What’s not to like about a handsome man in an old-timey baseball uniform?

(1) A brief Rankin family chart

Let’s start with a short outline descendant chart to put the two Davids in their family context.

1 Adam Rankin was the immigrant ancestor in this Rankin line. The two David Rankins who are the subject of this article were his grandsons. Adam’s wife was Mary Steele Alexander, widow of James Alexander.[1] Adam’s 1747 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania will named his sons James, William, and Jeremiah, and a daughter, Esther Rankin Dunwoody.[2] This article deals with only James and William – fathers of the two Davids.

2 James Rankin, son of Adam, died in 1795 in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. James’ wife was Jean, whose maiden name is unproved so far as I know. His will named their sons William, Jeremiah, James, and David #1, and two daughters, Esther Rankin Smith and Ruth Rankin Tool.[3]

2 William Rankin, son of Adam, died in 1792 in Antrim Township, Franklin County.[4] His wife was Mary Huston, daughter of Archibald and Agnes Houston.[5] William named seven sons and one daughter in his will: Adam, Archibald, James, William, Betsy, David #2, John, and Jeremiah.

I will refer to these two David Rankins by number because it helps me keep them straight. David #1was a son of James d. 1795, Montgomery Township; David #2 was a son of William d. 1792, Antrim Township.

(2) What the Pennsylvania Archives got wrong

Here’s the bad information the Archives provides about one of the two David Rankins. Only the boldface text is wrong; the rest is correct.

 “David Rankin is shown in 1780, as a private under Captain William Smith. The will of David Rankin of Montgomery Twp., was dated 1829 and prob. 1833. He names wife Molly and two children, James and Betsy. To Mary Elizabeth Sellers, only child of daughter Molly, who had married Alexander Sellars, Oct, 7th 1824.  Miss Molly L. McFarland of Mercersburg stated the above David was the son of William Rankin of Antrim Township who died 1792.”[6]

(3) The bottom line

No, the David Rankin whose will was proved in 1833 was not David #2, son of William Rankin of Antrim Township. With all due respect to Miss Molly L. McFarland, the man the Archives describes was David #1, son of James and Jean Rankin of Montgomery Township.

Here are the key factors for telling the two Davids apart: age, wife’s identity, and – the pièce de résistance– location.

(4) The argument

Age. Although the law or custom varied from time to time, men were typically required to serve in the militia beginning at age sixteen. Sometimes boys served as early as 13.[7] Thus, the David Rankin who was a private in 1780 was probably born by 1764 and definitely no later than 1767. According to county tax lists, David #1, son of James and Jean Rankin, was born no later than 1767-68.[8]

On the other hand, the family Bible in Flossie Cloyd’s material establishes that David #2 was born in 1777. He was definitely not the man who was a militia private in 1780. Strike 1, Archives.

FYI, here is information from the family Bible listing the birth dates of all eight children of William and Mary Huston Rankin. In case you wish to track any of them, I’ve added enough information to tell you where to look.

  1. Adam Rankin, born March? 10, 1762. Adam first appeared on the Franklin Co. tax list in 1782, identified as a doctor. He inherited land in Westmoreland County that his brother Archibald sold for him.[9] Adam moved to Henderson County, KY, married three times, and had a large family. He was the grandfather of Confederate Brigadier General Adam “Stovepipe” Johnson[10] and the ancestor of a Rankin who is (or was, at one time) the chairman of the board of Churchill Downs.[11]
  2. Archibald Rankin, born April 10, 1764, married Agnes (“Nancy”) Long. He remained in Franklin County his entire life. Records from the Upper West Conococheague Presbyterian Church record his death on June 24, 1845 at age 81.
  1. James Rankin was born April 20, 1766. He moved to Centre County along with his brothers William, John, and Jeremiah. He may have died between 1820 and 1830. I’ve found no evidence establishing his children or his wife’s identity.
  1. William Rankin (Jr.) was born Nov. 5, 1770. He moved to Centre County, married Abigail McGinley and then Susannah, possibly Huston. He died in Centre County.[12]
  1. Betsy Rankin was born Oct. 13, 1774.
  1. David #2 Rankin, one of the subjects of this article, was born Feb. 5, 1777.
  1. John Rankin was born May 1, 1778 and died Apr. 22, 1848.[13] He moved to Centre County with his three brothers, married Isabella Dundas in 1804, and died in Centre County.[14]
  2. Jeremiah Rankin, born Nov. 26, 1783, married Sarah Whitehill. The date is confirmed on his tombstone in Centre County, PA.[15]

Wife’s identity. Based on his will, the wife of the David Rankin who died in 1833 was named Molly, maiden name unproved. I have found no deeds or other records identifying the wife of David #1. We have better luck with David #2. Deeds conclusively establish that he was married to Frances (“Fanny”) Campbell, daughter of Dougal (Dongal/Dugald/Dugal) Campbell.[16] In case there is any lingering doubt, the Rankin family Bible says that Frances Campbell and David #2 were married on June 13, 1799.  In short, Molly’s husband was David #1. Strike 2, Archives.

Location is a great tool for establishing family connections. An 1818 Franklin deed from James Rankin (brother of David #1) to Jacob Kline conveyed a tract in Montgomery Township. Part of the tract was devised in 1788 by James Rankin Sr. to his son James Rankin (Jr.), the grantor in the 1818 deed – so we are certain that the deed deals with the line of James Rankin Sr.[17] The conveyed tract was adjacent to David #1. The deed thus proves that David #1 owned a tract adjacent to Jacob Kline in Montgomery Township at some point. And …

    • In the 1830 federal census for Montgomery Township (three years before David #1 died), David Rankin was listed adjacent Jacob Kline, grantee in the above deed.[18] He was the only David Rankin listed in Montgomery in the 1830 census. His census profile “fit” the family of the David Rankin who died in 1833.
    • David Rankin’s 1829 will, proved in 1833, referenced his Montgomery Township tract adjacent Jacob Kline.

Bottom line: the David Rankin who died in 1833 was David #1, son of James Sr. and Jean Rankin, and not David #2, son of William and Mary Huston Rankin.

(5) A few more facts

Some genealogists believe that David #2 went to Greene County, Tennessee.[19] Not so. Instead, he and his family went from Franklin to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, then to Allen County, Indiana, and finally to Des Moines County, Iowa. David died there. His wife Frances apparently died before they reached Iowa.[20]

While he lived in Franklin, David #2 attended the Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague,”[21] as did his brother Archibald.[22] On the other hand, David #1 and his brothers were pew holders in the Welsh Run Presbyterian Church, also known as the “Lower Conococheague” Church.[23]

The Upper West church kept baptism records, although they are evidently incomplete.[24] The four youngest children of David #2 are listed: Frances Rankin (baptized 9 May 1814), David Huston Rankin (28 Apr 1817), Archibald Rankin (10 Oct 1819), and Adam John Rankin (13 Feb 1822). In light of David #2’s entry in the 1820 census (seven children in the household), you would expect other children. [25]  Indeed, the family Bible, Westmoreland County deeds, and other records prove nine children:

    • Elizabeth (Betsy) Rankin, b. 3 Feb 1803, never married.
    • Martha C. Rankin, b. 22 Nov 1805, married Mr. Sweeney.
    • William Rankin, b. 6 Jan 1807, married Martha Jane Gray.
    • Mary C. or H. or E. Rankin, b. 6 Feb 1809, married James Bruce.
    • Dougal C. Rankin, b. 10 Apr 1811, married Mary Johnson.
    • Francis Rankin, b. 1 Jan 1814, married James Waddle.
    • David Huston Rankin, b. 14 Mar 1817, married Mary A. Oliver.
    • Archibald Rankin b. 1 Aug 1819, married Lydia Blair.
    • Adam John Rankin, b. 29 Dec 1821, apparently never married.

David #2 and his family left Franklin between 1827 and 1830.[26] They are listed in Westmoreland County in the 1830 census and in Iowa Territory in 1840.[27] The 1850 census in Des Moines County shows David as age 73, born in Pennsylvania.[28] He is buried in the Round Prairie Cemetery in Des Moines County.[29] Adam John Rankin and Dougal/Dugal Campbell Rankin are also buried in the Round Prairie Cemetery. Archibald Rankin is buried in the Kossuth Cemetery, also located in Des Moines County.

The family Bible also names the children of Archibald Rankin and Lydia Blair: (1) Elizabeth Jane Rankin m. William B. Reed, (2) Margaret F. Rankin, and (3) Martha C. Rankin.

Finally, here is the image of the baseball player: Dougal Wylie Rankin. He was a son of John William Rankin and Jennie S. Wylie. John William was a son of Dougal Campbell Rankin – a son of David and Frances Campbell Rankin.[30] That is a fabulous shirt …

And that’s it from me on the two David Rankins, grandsons of Adam and Mary Steele Rankin.

See you on down the road.

Robin

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[1] For evidence establishing that Adam Rankin’s wife was Mary Steele Alexander, see this  article.

[2] Lancaster Co., PA Will Book J, Vol. 1: 208, will of Adam Rankin dated 4 May 1747, proved 21 Sep 1747.

[3] Franklin Co., PA Will Book A: 345, will of James Rankin of Montgomery Township dated 25 Mar 1788, proved 20 Oct 1795.

[4] Franklin Co., PA Will Book A: 256, will of William Rankin of Antrim Township dated 20 Oct 1792, proved 28 Nov 1792.

[5] Franklin Co., PA Will Book A: 110, will of Agnes Huston, widow of Archibald Huston, dated 15 Nov 1776, proved 14 Mar 1787. Her will names William Rankin, husband of daughter Mary, as an executor.

[6] Thomas Lynch Montgomery, ed., Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Volume VI (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1906) 275.

[7] See  https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/06/explaining-pennsylvanias-militia/ and/or  https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/fighting-man-continental-army and/or https://www.constitution.org/jw/acm_3-m.htm

[8] David #1 was listed on the Montgomery Township tax list for 1789 along with his father James (Sr.) and brothers William, Jeremiah, and James Rankin. David was a “freeman,” meaning that he was age 21 or older and not married.

[9] Westmoreland Co., PA Deed Book 7: 392, deed from Archibald Rankin of Antrim Twp., Franklin Co. to David Carson of Greencastle Twp., tract on waters of Pine Run, Westmoreland,  originally granted to William Rankin of Antrim Twp., 27 Jul 1773, surveyed 4 or 11 1776. Tract left to Dr. Adam Rankin by his father’s LW&T dated 20 Oct 1792. Doctor Adam Rankin granted his brother Archibald Rankin power of attorney dated 29 June 1792.

[10] See article about Stovepipe Johnson at this link.

[11] There is some more information about Dr. Adam Rankin in this article.

[12] Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania: Including the Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion (Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1898) at 100-101.

[13] John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania (Louis H. Everts, 1883, reprinted Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1975), 222-223.

[14] Id.

[15] Mary Belle Lontz, Tombstone Inscriptions of Centre County, Pennsylvania (1984). Image of tombstones at  this finagrave post..

[16] Franklin Co., PA Deed Book 9: 288, deed dated 8 May 1807 from David Rankin of Franklin and wife Fanny conveying land devised to David by the will of William Rankin dated 20 Oct 1792. Frances/Fanny’s father is also conclusively proved by a deed, see Franklin Deed Book 14: 245. See also Franklin Co., PA Deed Book 14: 266, deed dated 28 Aug 1827 from David Rankin and wife Frances of Montgomery Township, 54 acres in Peters Township, deed witnessed by Archibald Bald.

[17] Franklin Co., PA Deed Book 12: 28.

[18] 1830 federal census, Montgomery Township, Franklin Co., household of David Rankin, 0000101-000010001 adjacent Jacob Kline. There are two people age 20 < 30 in David’s household, as we would expect: his daughter Molly was already married when David #1 wrote his will in 1829. The age category for the eldest male is clearly erroneous. He should be in the same age category as the eldest female, age 60 < 70 (born in the 1760s), if he was a militia private in 1780.

[19] See, e.g., https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/29dbc658-cdcc-4f12-8c30-8dc877e7fdb4. Please be advised that this application for historic site designation contains several Rankin history errors and unproved assertions.

[20] See the article about proof for this family in this article.

[21] The creek and church name were spelled Conococheague or Conogogheaue, among other variants.

[22] The Upper West church records show Archibald’s marriage to Agnes Long, as well as his death date. Recall that David and Archibald each inherited a part of their father William’s “Mansion Place,” so they originally lived next to each other. See Franklin Co., PA Will Book A: 256, will of William Rankin of Antrim Township devising 200 acres “off my Mansion Place” to son Archibald, and “the old Mansion place,” 300 acres, to his son David #2. You would expect both brothers to attend the nearest Presbyterian church.

[23] Virginia Shannon Fendrick, American Revolutionary Soldiers of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Chambersburg, PA: Historical Works Committee of the Franklin County Chapter of the D.A.R., 1969) (copyright 1944) 180.

[24] Some records of the Upper West Conococheague church are available online at Ancestry.com.

[25] David #2 was then living in Peters Township and is listed as age 26 < 45 (born 1775 – 1794). There were seven children in his household, including 1 male and 2 females age 10 < 16 (born 1804 – 1810), plus 3 males and one female under age 10 (born 1810 – 1820).

[26] David #2 and his wife Frances executed a deed in Franklin Co. in Oct 1827, see note 17. He did not appear in the 1830 census for Franklin.

[27] 1840 federal census for Iowa Territory, Des Moines Co., David Rankin, age 60 < 70 (born 1770 – 1780).

[28] The 1850 federal census listing in DesMoines Co. for David Rankin’s household includes Dugald Camel, 30, b. PA, and Frances Camel, 14, b. Indiana. Given the spelling perversions one finds in the census, they were probably Dugal (or Dougal) Campbell and Frances Campbell.

[29] Here is a link to his  findagrave posting.

[30] Dougal Wylie Rankin, b. 7 Jan 1889, d. 12 Oct 1850, Eugene, Lane Co., OR. Buried in West Lawn Memorial Park . See 1910 census, Lane Co., Oregon, J. William Rankin, wife Jennie W., sons Dougal, Byron L. and Boyd, and daughter Frances E. Rankin; 1870 census, Des Moines Co., IA, D.n C. Rankin, 58, with David, Hezekiah, Sarah and John W. Rankin

Revolutionary War Story: Robert Rankin of the Northern Neck (part 4 of 5)

A hoary old joke goes like this: what is the shortest book ever written? Possible answers: Nixon on Ethics or Bill Clinton on Fidelity. A book titled Robert Rankin on His Revolutionary War Service would challenge them for brevity. Everything Robert had to say about himself is contained in nine pages of his 117-page pension file. Most of the words are boilerplate. Worse, some of what he remembered is demonstrably wrong.

Unfortunately, misinformation provided by Robert and others is compounded by seemingly endless and endlessly confusing military reorganizations. In an effort to promote clarity, I divided this article about Robert’s war story into two sections and an “appendix.” The first section is his basic war story. The second section contains Robert’s own words about himself. The appendix explains military reorganizations affecting him.

Section 1: Robert’s war story, CliffsNotes version[1]

Robert enlisted on July 26, 1776[2] as a private in Capt. William Brady’s Company,[3] Col. Hugh Stephenson’s Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (the “Rifle Regiment”).[4] That means Robert was a skilled marksman, because the Rifle Regiment recruited sharpshooters.[5] Robert’s pension declaration said he enlisted for the term of “during the War,” although company records prove he enlisted for three years.[6] Robert was promoted to Sergeant by at least January 1, 1777.[7]

The Rifle Regiment was decimated at Ft. Washington on Oct. 16, 1776.[8] His brother William Rankin, also in Capt. Brady’s Company, was taken prisoner there.[9] Robert apparently wasn’t in that battle, although we aren’t sure why. Captain Brady wasn’t at Ft. Washington, either.[10]

Robert was in winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the winter of 1776-77 during the so-called “Forage War.”[11] He was probably in the battles of Princeton and Trenton in December 1776 and January 1777, respectively.[12] Both were spectacular victories for Washington’s army. Trenton was the famous surprise attack at dawn after crossing the icy Delaware River. Robert also fought at Brandywine on September 11, 1777 (a terrible rout by the British) and Germantown on October 4, 1777 (a somewhat less humiliating loss).[13]

Robert spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge.[14] By the following winter, he was listed on muster rolls as acting Brigade Forage Master in winter camp, located again at Morristown.[15] He was commissioned an Ensign on July 4, 1779, shortly before his original three-year enlistment expired.[16] After that point, he had no “term” of service because commissioned officers serve until they resign or are discharged. Gary, the family military historian, says it is unusual even in wartime for a private to become a commissioned officer. Robert must have been an exceptional soldier.

Less than two weeks later, Robert probably participated in what we would call today an elite temporary unit for a risky mission at Stony Point on July 16, 1779.[17] General “Mad Anthony” Wayne assembled for the assignment a provisional troop of light infantrymen. Wayne and some of the patriots overwhelmed a well-fortified British position with bayonets.

Here’s how they did it.[18] Stony Point was surrounded on three sides by the Hudson River and on the fourth, the west side, by a marsh. One part of the patriot force feinted a frontal assault across the marsh’s causeway, laying down “a galling fire.” This took place around midnight, at low tide.[19] Two larger parts of the force waded silently through the river to the north and south sides of the hill, carrying unloaded muskets with bayonets affixed. The muskets were not loaded to prevent accidental discharge, which would have ruined the crucial element of surprise. The two patriot forces ascended the hill and overwhelmed the British from both sides.

In early 1780, Robert’s company was assigned to the enlarged 1st Virginia Regiment. It then began a roughly four-month march to the Siege of Charleston, which was Robert’s last significant military engagement.[20] The siege ended on May 12, 1780 when the entire patriot army defending Charleston surrendered. It was the worst American defeat of the Revolution, with about 6,000 patriots captured.[21]

After the siege, Congress conferred a “brevet” on all participating officers. The brevet designation recognized outstanding service by temporarily promoting an officer to a higher rank. Congress awarded the temporary promotions and later a permanent promotion to Lieutenant retroactive to January 1, 1780. That became his official date of rank.[22]

In July 1781, nearly all patriot prisoners in the south were released as part of a prisoner exchange between the United States and Britain.[23] Not long after the exchange, Robert went home on furlough to Frederick County, Virginia. He married his fiancé Margaret “Peggy” Berry there on November 1, 1781.[24]

 After Charleston, the Virginia Line essentially ceased to exist.[25] As he himself said, Robert was “reduced” on January 1, 1783.[26] That means he was listed as a surplus officer having no assignment. In the final “arrangement” of the Virginia Line, Robert was the 37th Lieutenant out of sixty based on the Lieutenants’ dates of rank. Put another way, there were 36 Lieutenants who would have been offered an assignment ahead of Robert. The odds are that Robert never had another duty assignment after the exchange of prisoners from Charleston in July 1781. He was officially discharged on January 1, 1783.[27]

Along the way, Robert served in Stephenson’s (Rawlings’) Rifle Regiment and the 11th, 7th, and 1st Virginia Regiments. He never served in the 3rd Virginia, various histories (and Robert himself) to the contrary. All regimental changes were due to reorganizations. He had five different company commanders we can identify. He never served in a company with the future Chief Justice John Marshall. He only actually changed companies once, and that was when he was commissioned an Ensign.

Here is what Robert himself said …

Section 2: Robert’s pension file declarations

Robert made two sworn declarations, one for a pension and one for a land warrant. He also wrote an unsworn letter supporting the former.

Below is a verbatim transcription of part of Robert’s declaration of July 26, 1828, including a strikethrough in the original. I have omitted boilerplate and material irrelevant to his war story. I inserted footnotes to correct the errors or ambiguous statements noted in boldface.

“ … I, Robert Rankins, of the County of Washington, in the state of Alabama, do hereby declare, that I was an Officer in the Continental Line of the Army of the Revolution, and served as such to the end of the War,[28] and also to the time when the arrangement of the army provided by the Resolves of Congress of the 3rd and 21st of October, 1780, were carried into effect, and was reduced under that arrangement, at which periods I was a Lieutenant in the Third Regiment[29] of the  Virginia line.

“… And I do further declare, that I was one of the officers who served under, and was captured with, Major General Lincoln at the Siege of Charleston, South Carolina, and that every officer in the Army of the said General Lincoln in reward for the signal services rendered by them at that memorable siege Defence was promoted a Grade higher by a Resolve of Congress, but I cannot remember, at this distance of time, whether the Said officers were regularly commissioned, or not. But if my Commission as a Lieutenant, (the grade to which I had been promoted) was ever received, it has, in the long lapse of fifty years, been either lost or mislaid, or destroyed by time or accident, so that it cannot now be produced.

Robert Rankins

Sworn to & subscribed before me this 26th July 1828.” Wm Grimes, clerk of court.

Robert also wrote an unsworn letter dated July 1828 in support of his application with a “few explanatory remarks.” Here are relevant parts.

“… I embarked in the services of the United States, in the capacity of an Ensign in a Regiment of the Virginia Line upon the Continental Establishment (the number of which I do not now distinctly recollect) … A short time after the formation[30] of the said Regiment it was ordered to the South[31] under the command of Majr Gen Lincoln where it was captured, with his whole army, at the surrender of Charleston … [Thereafter, Congress] passed a Resolve raising each officer a grade higher or rather conferring upon them Brevets, and holding them in reserve to fill any vacancies that might thereafter occur in the Army.”

“I have never wanted and never sought relief from my Country, and nothing but the helplessness of age with unlooked for poverty[32] forces me now to ask a portion of the munificence extended by the government.”

Robert made a second sworn declaration in September 1828 in support of a request for a “Bounty Land Warrant.” The underlining and strikethroughs are exactly as they appear in the original.

“The State of Alabama

County of Washington

“I, Robert Rankins, aged Seventy five years, do, upon oath, testify and declare, that in the year, one thousand seven hundred and seventy six – I entered the service of the United States for the term of “during the War” in the Third Regiment (to the best of my recollection) under the command of Colonel Hugh Stevenson – of the Virginia Line, and that I continued in the service aforesaid until the close of the War.[33] I do further declare that I entered a private and was afterwards promoted to the rank of Ensign and, before the close of the War, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, in which capacity I was disbanded or deranged after the conclusion of Peace.”[34]

“Signed, Robert Rankins”

The clerk’s attestation is dated September 18, 1828. Col. Hugh Stevenson’s Rifle Regiment was not a part of the Virginia Line.

Finally, for the hard-core military historians, here is how Robert’s units were shuffled.

Appendix: military reorganizations affecting Robert

There were three military reorganizations which made it difficult to track Robert’s service: (1) the reorganization of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment after the battle of Ft. Washington; (2) the 1778 reduction in the number of Virginia Line regiments from fifteen to eleven; and (3) the 1779 reduction of the Virginia Line from eleven regiments to four.

… the Rifle Regiment and its assignment to the 11th Virginia in February, 1777

Robert and his brother William enlisted in 1776 in one of the four newly recruited Virginia companies in the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, AKA Stephenson’s Regiment (later Rawlings’ Regiment). That regiment also included a veteran Virginia rifle company under Capt. Abraham Shepherd. The four newly created companies of Virginians were commanded by (1) Capt. William Blackwell (Lt. John Marshall, future Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, was second in command, and Robert was not in this company), (2) Capt. Gabriel Long, (3) Capt. Adam West, and (4) Capt. William Brady.

With two exceptions, the Virginia companies in the Rifle Regiment fought and were decimated at Ft. Washington on November 16, 1776. First, Capt. Blackwell’s company (including Lt. Marshall) didn’t reach New Jersey until April 1777, when the main army was in winter quarters at Morristown.[35] Upon arrival, Blackwell’s company was attached to the 11th Virginia Regiment and was never in an engagement as part of the Rifle Regiment. Second, most of Capt. Long’s company did not arrive until after the battle at Ft. Washington.[36]

That left Brady’s, Shepherd’s, West’s, and part of Long’s companies to participate in the awful defeat at Ft. Washington.[37] After that battle, Gen. Washington reorganized the few Rifle Regiment soldiers still fit for service (i.e., alive and not a prisoner). He created two “composite” rifle companies, one composed of Marylanders and the second of Virginians. Capt. Gabriel Long commanded the latter, and Robert Rankin was in his company along with the remainder of his own, Shepherd’s, West’s, and Brady’s companies.[38]

In February 1777, the 11th Virginia regiment was organized. Capt. Long’s composite rifle company with Robert Rankin attached from Capt. Brady’s company was one of the nine companies assigned to the regiment. Capt. Long’s pay and muster rolls continued to include men identified as being from Shepherd’s, West’s, and Brady’s companies. After Long resigned, Robert remained in the same company under different commanders until he was promoted to Ensign on July 4, 1779. He was then assigned to Capt. William Johnston’s company. He was almost certainly still with Capt. Johnston at Charleston, but there are two more reorganizations to go through before we get there.

… the September 1778 rearrangement of the Virginia Line, effective May 12, 1779.

In response to the expiration of enlistment terms and other manpower losses, the 1778 rearrangement reduced the number of regiments in the Virginia Line from fifteen to eleven. You might want to take a Dramamine before continuing. The 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th Regiments were combined with the depleted 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Regiments (not respectively) to restore the latter to full manpower. The former 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th regiments then ceased to exist. The 1st through 4th retained their numbers. The other seven remaining regiments – the 7th, 10th, and 11th through 15th – were renumbered. The 11th Virginia then became the 7th. As a result, Robert Rankin was now serving in the 7th Virginia, where he remained until the next rearrangement. When he was commissioned an Ensign on July 4th, 1779, he was assigned to Capt. William Johnston’s company, still in the 7th Virginia.

… the 1779 rearrangement.

The Virginia Line was reorganized yet again shortly before the march to Charleston. In late 1779, ten regiments of the Virginia Line[39] were consolidated into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments.  Companies from the regiments formerly designated 5th, 7th, 10th, and 11th were folded into the 1st Virginia Regiment. Ensign Robert Rankin, soon to be Brevet Lieutenant Robert Rankin, was still in Capt. Johnston’s company in the 7th Virginia Regiment as of November 1779.[40] Robert was almost certainly still in Capt. Johnston’s company in the enlarged 1st Virginia Regiment at Charleston, rather than the 3rd Virginia Regiment. Capt. William Johnson’s Company in the 1st Regiment of the Virginia Line was among the patriot reinforcements arriving in Charleston on April 8, 1780.[41]

Thankfully, that is it for reorganizations. I wish Robert had written his memoirs and provided detail on the battles he was in. While he was at it, he might have identified his parents and siblings. No such luck. We are on our own on those questions.

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[1] CAVEAT: Gary and I are not historians, although he published an award-winning history of the unit in which he served in Vietnam (Red Markers, Close Air Support for the Vietnamese Airborne, 1962–1975). We are family history hobbyists fond of digging through records to solve puzzles or find narratives. As for this article, some information is from Robert and Peggy’s pension application file, designated “Rankins, Robert No. W26365 or Rankin, Peggy B.L.Wt. 1380-200” (cited herein as “Robert Rankin’s pension application file”). Evidence also includes muster and pay rolls, other original military records, and published histories.

[2] United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, Familysearch.org, Film/Fiche No. 7197156, image 395. Muster roll dated Sept. 1778 for Capt. Charles Porterfield’s Co., 11th Virginia Regiment, says that Sgt. Robert Rankins enlisted for three years on July 26, 1776. Hereafter, I will cite this simply as War Rolls, identifying the film/fiche and image numbers.

[3] War Rolls, Film/Fiche Number No. 7197155, images 590-591. Payroll dated 1 May 1777 for “pay and subsistence to 1 May 1777.” Sgt. Robert Rankins of Capt. Brady’s company listed on the roll for Capt. Gabriel Long’s composite rifle company.

[4] Robert Rankin’s pension application file, declaration dated 18 Sep 1828, says he enlisted in Stephenson’s Regiment as a private. Images of Robert’s entire pension file are available for a fee from Fold.3 at Ancestry.com.

[5] See Part 2 of 4 in this series of articles for information about Stephenson’s Rifle Regiment.

[6] See Note 2.

[7] See Note 3. Robert’s pay was £3 per month, the same as other Sergeants. Since the May 1, 1777 payroll was £12 for four months, he was a Sergeant by at least January 1, 1777. Robert may have become a Sergeant before Brady’s company ever left Virginia, since enlisted men sometimes elected their own non-commissioned officers. E.g., Danske Dandridge, “Historic Shepherdstown” (Charlottesville, VA: The Michie Company, 1910) 80, online   here.

[8] See Part 2 and Part 3 of this series for information about Ft. Washington.

[9] See William Rankin’s pension application. His declaration in support filed Nov. 22, 1833 said he enlisted in Capt. Brady’s Company, Stephenson’s Regiment, and that he was taken prisoner when Ft. Washington surrendered.

[10] War Rolls, Film/Fiche No. 7197160, image 275, “Arrangement of the officers of the 11th Virginia Regiment” (undated, probably about June 1777). It states that “William Brady was a Captain in the 11th Regiment and has never done any duty. Absented himself without leave.”

[11] Tucker F. Hentz, Unit History of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (1776–1781): Insights from the Service Record of Capt. Adamson Tannehill (Richmond: Virginia Historical Society, 2007) 21. Available online at this link. Units which performed skirmishing duties in the first half of 1777 included Gabriel Long’s composite rifle company. Sgt. Robert Rankin was in the composite company during this time. See War Rolls, Film/Fiche Number No. 7197155, images 590-591, payroll dated 1 May 1777 for “pay and subsistence to 1 May 1777.” Sgt. Robert Rankins of Brady’s company is listed on Capt. Gabriel Long’s composite rifle company payroll.

[12] Robert’s widow Peggy didn’t include either Princeton or Trenton in the list she gave of Robert’s battles. It is likely that the remaining soldiers of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment were engaged in both battles. One “return of the forces” record dated Dec. 22, 1776 appears to include the remnants of the Rifle Regiment “on the banks of the Delaware in the State of Pennsylvania.” Hentz, Unit History of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment 14, note 59. The Battle of Trenton, on the other side of the river, was four days later, on Dec. 26, 1776. Princeton was on Jan. 3, 1777. It is almost inconceivable that the soldiers camped on the Delaware River didn’t participate in both battles. However, the “return” does not identify company captains or enlisted men. It does say there were 108 men fit for combat and two Captains. This profile “fits” with how the two composite rifle companies would have looked after the Battle of Ft. Washington, taking losses into account. The two composite companies were Capt. Alexander Lawson Smith’s (the remaining Marylanders from the Rifle Regiment) and Capt. Gabriel Long’s (the remaining Virginians). Robert Rankin was in Capt. Long’s composite company.

[13] Robert Rankin’s pension application file, declaration of Peggy Rankin of Liberty Co., TX dated March 22, 1844. She said Robert fought at Brandywine, Princeton, Stony Point, and Charleston.

[14] War Rolls, Film/Fiche Number No. 7197155, image 578. A muster Roll for February 1778 for Capt. Philip Slaughter’s company (formerly Capt. Gabriel Long’s company) in the 11th Virginia Regiment stated it was taken at Valley Forge. The list of soldiers includes Sgt. Robert Rankin.

[15] Id., Film/Fiche No. 7197156, image 395. Muster roll for September 1778, Capt. Porterfield’s company, Col. Daniel Morgan’s regiment. Sgt. Robert Rankins was acting as Brigade Forage Master, abbreviated “Act as B.F.M.” For more information, see a resolution of Congress regarding forage master duties here.

[16] War Rolls, Film/Fiche No. 7197160, image 373. Arrangement of the Field Officers and Captains in the 7th Regiment of the Virginia Line states Ensign Robert Rankin’s date of rank was July 4, 1779.

[17] We found no muster roll or other record identifying individual soldiers at Stony Point. The only evidence that Robert participated so far as we know is Peggy Rankin’s pension declaration. She had considerable credibility with the judge who took her declaration, who noted her remarkable memory and knowledge of the war.

[18] Samuel W. Pennypacker, “The Capture of Stony Point,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 26, No. 3 (1902) 360-369, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. A  PDF can be downloaded from JSTOR.

[19] The Hudson River is tidal  from its mouth upstream for 153 miles. Stony Point is 38 miles upstream of the river’s mouth. See this article about the Hudson.

[20] Amazingly, the only battle Robert himself mentioned in his pension application was the Siege of Charleston.

[21] Estimates vary of the number of American troops surrendered at Charleston. One source says that an army of “roughly 5,000 men ceased to exist” when Gen. Lincoln surrendered. Carl Borick, who seems to be the leading authority on the Siege of Charleston, says some 6,000 Continentals, militia, and seamen were captured when Charleston surrendered. Carl P. Borick, Relieve Us of this Burthen (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2012). “Burthen” is not a typo.

[22] War Rolls, Film/Fiche No. 7197160, image 395-398, numerical list dated Jan. 1, 1783 of the redundant junior officers in each grade in the Virginia Line. Date of commission for Robert Rankins was Jan. 1, 1780. He was number 37 out of 60 Lieutenants based on date of rank.

[23] Mark Berry article in “The College Today,” the news site of the College of Charleston, June 25, 2015.

[24] Robert’s pension application file, declaration of Peggy Rankin of Liberty Co., TX dated March 22, 1844. She testified that she and Robert, having been previously engaged, married in Frederick Co., VA on 1 Nov 1781. She said he was then on a furlough of 60 days.

[25] By the end of 1782, only 730 men remained active in the Virginia Line. That number is roughly normal manning for only one regiment, compared to fifteen regiments comprising the Line at one time. War Rolls, 1775-1783, Film/Fiche No. 7197160, image 391, “Arrangement Review Board Proceedings” dated January 1, 1783.

[26] Robert Rankin’s pension application, declaration dated July 26, 1828.

[27] Id., Film/Fiche No. 7197160, image 449, list of the officers “deranged” (discharged) on Jan. 1, 1783, included Lt. Robert Rankins, due $80 for 1782 and nothing for 1783.

[28] What did Robert mean by “the end of the war”? He was discharged on Jan.1, 1783. See Note 27. The “Preliminary Anglo-American Peace Treaty” was signed in Paris on Nov. 30, 1782. Gen. Washington issued the “Declaration of the Cessation of Hostilities” (“an extra ration of liquor for every man”!!) on April 18, 1783. The Treaty of Paris was signed September 3, 1783 and ratified by the Senate January 14, 1784. Peggy testified that her marriage to Robert took place on November 1, 1781, “nearly a year before his service expired.” That suggests she thought his service was over by November 1782. He most likely came home to stay about then. He had no assignment and no realistic expectation that he would receive one. As a practical matter, the Virginia Line had ceased to exist, and he was far down the list of surplus Lieutenants based on his date of rank.

[29] For a discussion of Robert’s regimental assignment as a Lieutenant, see the text accompanying Notes 39 and 40. The records establish he was in the 1st rather than the 3rd Virginia Regiment.

[30] Gary would scold Robert for using the term “formation” in the context of the Virginia Line Regiments that were “ordered to the South” under General Lincoln. Every time I wrote “newly formed” or “newly created,” Gary got out his red pen. “A regiment by that number already existed,” he would say. “The existing regiment was just enlarged.” The only time “newly created” was appropriate in this article was to describe the Virginia companies recruited for the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment in 1776.

[31] See text accompanying Notes 39 and 40. In his July 26 declaration, Robert said he was with the 3rd Virginia Regiment when his service ended. In this letter, also written in 1828, he cannot recall the number of the regiment that was ordered to the south. Ensign Rankin almost certainly marched to Charleston and fought there with the 1st Virginia Regiment, not the 3rd. Likewise, Lieutenant Rankin ended his service in the 1st.

[32] The letter reveals Robert was suffering “unlooked for poverty” by 1828, a fact confirmed by other documents in his pension file. One historian says Robert had a financial reversal around 1819-1820, probably in conjunction with land speculation and the panic of 1819. Ann Patton Malone, Handbook of Texas Online, “RANKIN, ROBERT,” accessed January 31, 2020 at this link.. Given his brother William’s statement that he (William) engaged in a good deal of land trading, land speculation and plummeting land values do seem a likely cause of Robert’s poverty. See William Rankin’s pension application, declaration filed Nov. 22, 1833.

[33] Robert’s use of the phrases “close of the war” and “conclusion of the peace” in this letter raises the same questions as the phrase “end of the War.” See Note 28.

[34] Stephenson’s/Rawlings’ Regiment, AKA the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, was not part of the Virginia Line. It reported to Congress and was independent of any state regulation. See Part 2 of this series for information on the Rifle Regiment. Note that Robert correctly struck through “3rd” in this declaration.

[35] Hentz, Unit History of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment 15-16. Blackwell’s company was still in Philadelphia receiving smallpox inoculations in March 1777 after moving up from Virginia. It joined the main army at Morristown in April.

[36] An advance element of 13 men from Long’s company reached New York ahead of the rest. A muster roll of Long’s company in April 1778 states those 13 men were captured. War Rolls, Film/fiche number 7197155, image 551.

[37] A 1778 report by Col. Moses Rawlings (Stephenson’s successor as commander) names Rifle Regiment officers who died or were taken prisoner at Ft. Washington. Hentz, Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment 13. Based on other information in that report, Gary estimates that 264 out of 297 riflemen engaged at Ft. Washington were killed or captured.

[38] The muster and pay rolls for Long’s composite company had a strange format. Rolls were titled “Capt. Gabriel Long’s Company,” but each also contained a listing of the names of soldiers in Captains Shepherd’s, West’s, and Brady’s companies — generally not more than a dozen men from each company. From the army’s standpoint, a soldier enlisted in Brady’s company remained in Brady’s company and was thereafter considered (in Robert Rankin’s case, for example) in Brady’s company but attached to Long’s company.

[39] The remaining regiment in the then 11-regiment Virginia Line was stationed at Ft. Pitt.

[40] War Rolls, Film/Fiche No. 7197152, image 330. Muster roll of Capt. William Johnston’s Company in the 7th Virginia Regiment, junior officers included Ensign Robert Rankins.

[41] Capt. William Johnston’s Company, 1st Virginia Regiment, 1st Virginia Brigade is listed among patriot reinforcements at this link.

 

Two Revolutionary War stories: Robert and William Rankin of Virginia (part 2 of 5)

By Robin Rankin Willis and Gary Noble Willis

Sometimes experience is essential to help interpret military records. I enlisted former Air Force Captain Gary Willis to untangle the Revolutionary War records of two brothers from the Northern Neck of Virginia: Robert and William Rankin. They took wildly different tracks in the war, despite the fact that they enlisted in the same company in 1776.

Our initial objective was to examine the accuracy of family oral history about Robert’s war experience. Somewhere along the research trail, we fell in love with the Rankins’ war stories and the underlying military history.[1] This article is the first of three about the brothers’ Revolutionary War history.[2]

Background: Hugh Stephenson’s/Moses Rawlings’ Independent Rifle Regiment

The military history story begins in June 1775, when the Continental Congress directed the raising of ten independent companies of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. “Independent” means the companies reported to national rather than state authority. They were not attached to a state regiment. Two Virginia companies were raised in Berkeley and Frederick Counties, near where the Rankins lived. They were commanded by Hugh Stephenson and Daniel Morgan, whose names appear in the pension applications of the Rankin soldiers.[3]

Rifle companies had different equipment and roles than other units. Regular infantry soldiers carried British-made smooth bore “Brown Bess” muskets having a range of about 100 yards.[4] They were not very accurate even within that range. However, they were deadly when fired en masse at an oncoming enemy formation. They could be reloaded rapidly: a trained soldier could load and fire the weapon three to four times in a minute. For the conventional warfare of the times – successive massed formations advancing toward opposing massed formations – the Brown Bess was made to order.

In contrast, the rifle companies were equipped with American long rifles (AKA Kentucky long rifles). They were accurate up to 200 yards, but could not be reloaded as rapidly as the Brown Bess. The rifle’s advantages in range and accuracy were also offset by the fact that it could not mount a bayonet. It was therefore not effective in close combat.

As you would expect, the rifle companies’ role was different than the musket companies. Riflemen normally provided scouting duties and guarded the main army’s flanks or fixed encampments such as Valley Forge. They were especially effective in patrols that remained out of musket range and harassed enemy foraging parties seeking supplies. Rifle company recruits were skilled sharpshooters.

One rather florid history describes the Virginia riflemen and their uniforms thusly:

“Volunteers [in the original 1775 Virginia rifle companies] presented themselves from every direction in the vicinity of [Shepherdstown and Winchester, VA]; none were received but young men of Character, and of sufficient property to Clothe themselves completely, find their own arms, and accoutrements, that is, an approved Rifle, handsome shot pouch, and powder-horn, blanket, knapsack, with such decent clothing as should be prescribed, but which was at first ordered to be only a Hunting shirt and pantaloons, fringed on every edge, and in Various Ways.”[5]

In July 1776, the Continental Congress authorized raising six new independent rifle companies. As a result, a total of nine companies comprised the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment. The regiment included three companies remaining from 1775 and the six new ones raised in 1776. Five of the nine companies were from the area where the Rankins lived in Virginia.

The regiment was originally commanded by Col. Hugh Stephenson and was commonly called “Stephenson’s Regiment.” When he died in August or September 1776, Lt. Col Moses Rawlings assumed command and the regiment became known as “Rawlings’ Regiment.” Captains Thomas West, William Brady, Gabriel Long, William Blackwell, and Abraham Shepherd commanded the five Virginia companies.

The company commanders are significant because our family history objective required identifying the companies in which William Rankin, Robert Rankin, and John Marshall (the future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court) served. Family oral history claims that Robert Rankin served in Justice Marshall’s company. Military records negate that claim.

Determining the correct companies for John Marshall and William Rankin was easy. One of Capt. Blackwell’s junior officers when the company was formed in 1776 was Lt. John Marshall.[6] Documents in William Rankin’s pension application file establish that he was in Capt. William Brady’s company.[7] Only Robert Rankin’s company took some digging. Payroll and muster roll records establish he was in Capt. Brady’s company along with his brother, as one would expect because they enlisted at the same time.[8]

The Rifle Regiment’s first significant engagement was the Battle of Ft. Washington on November 16, 1776.[9] The fort was located at a high point near the north end of Manhattan Island. It overlooked the Hudson River to the west, providing an ideal vantage point for artillery harassment of British ships.[10] Rawlings’ Regiment occupied an outpost north of the main fort. The riflemen repelled several bayonet charges by massed German mercenaries throughout the day. Vastly outnumbered, Rawlings ordered their retreat to the fort. About 2,800 surviving defenders, including 235 in Rawlings’ Regiment, were surrendered. It was a devastating loss in George Washington’s defense of New York. Shortly thereafter, he retreated from a position across the Hudson and began moving his army to northern New Jersey.

Prisoners taken at Ft. Washington suffered horribly. British treatment was brutal. Prisoners were initially crowded into jails, churches, sugar houses, and other large buildings in New York, including Columbia College.[11] Some were transferred to British ships, where conditions were also notoriously bad. By the end of 1776, the British held about 5,000 prisoners (including those from Ft. Washington) in New York City.[12] Approximately four out of five did not survive captivity. Most died of starvation or disease.

Two of Rawlings’ five Virginia rifle companies did not participate at Ft. Washington. First, Capt. William Blackwell’s company (with Lt. John Marshall) didn’t complete recruiting in Virginia until early 1777.[13] By the time Blackwell’s company arrived at the army’s winter camp near Morristown, it was assigned to the 11th Virginia Regiment. It never fought as part of Rawlings’ Regiment.[14] Second, most of Captain Gabriel Long’s company remained in Virginia on Nov. 21, 1776, days after the battle.[15]

They were fortunate, because the rifle companies which fought at Ft. Washington were decimated.[16] Roughly 90% of the participating riflemen (including men from both Virginia and Maryland companies) were either killed or captured.[17] Captains West’s, Shepherd’s, and Brady’s companies were in New York by November 13, 1776. All three were in in the battle[18].

Capt. William Brady is of particular interest because both William and Robert Rankin were in his company. He was a terrible commander. Brady was not in the battle himself. He resigned his commission in disgrace in March 1777. A mid-1777 report by Col. Daniel Morgan, who then commanded the regiment that included the remainder of the rifle companies, said that Brady “had never done any duty,” “absented himself without leave,” and “is said to have behaved in an infamous manner.”[19] The only reason we can imagine he wasn’t court martialed is that he was in Virginia and the army was otherwise occupied.

William Rankin was one of Capt. Brady’s men who was taken prisoner at Ft. Washington.[20] He was 17 or 18 at the time.[21] His brother Robert was apparently not in that battle, although payroll and muster records prove he was also in Brady’s company.[22] Ironically, the fact that William was a Ft. Washington prisoner but Robert was not is what caused the Rankin brothers’ war stories to take divergent paths.

With that background, it is time to turn our attention to the two Rankin brothers individually. However, this post has already gone on far too long and we are footnote-weary. Please check the next two articles in this series for the military histories of William and Lt. Robert Rankin, respectively.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

[1] This article is based on information obtained primarily from five sources: (1) muster roll and payroll records from the National Archives and Records Administration (digitized images available at FamilySearch.com); (2) Tucker F. Hentz, Unit History of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (1776–1781): Insights from the Service Record of Capt. Adamson Tannehill (Richmond: Virginia Historical Society, 2007), online here; (3) Danske Dandridge, Historic Shepherdstown (Charlottesville, VA: The Michie Company, 1910), available at this link; (4) Robert K. Wright Jr., The Continental Army (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2006); and (5) images of the original Revolutionary War pension files of Robert and Peggy Rankin and William Rankin.

[2] Gary and I are not historians. As the list of sources in Note 1 suggests, we assemble what we believe is credible information from actual histories and scholarly sources such as The Handbook of Texas History. The major primary sources we had for this series of articles were pension applications and payroll, muster, and other records from NARA.

[3] Dandridge, Historic Shepherdstown 78-79. Hugh Stephenson’s name appears in the pension applications of both Robert and William Rankin. Daniel Morgan’s name appears in William’s. Both Stephenson and Morgan were acquaintances of the Rankins and lived in the same area of Virginia.

[4] Information on rifles and muskets is available here and here.

 [5] Dandridge, Historic Shepherdstown 79.

[6] Lt. Marshall was consistently listed on Capt. Blackwell’s pay and muster rolls until Blackwell resigned in January 1778. E.g., United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, Familysearch.org, FHL film/fiche number 7197155, image 274 (cited hereafter as “United States Revolutionary War Rolls, FHL film/fiche number ______, image ____.”). Marshall became the commander of Blackwell’s former company by no later than August 1778. United States Revolutionary War Rolls, FHL film/fiche number 7197156, image 223.

[7] The pension application file of William Rankin, No. 25274, contains notes on the second page in official handwriting that William was a private in Capt. Brady’s company in a regiment commanded by Hugh Stephenson. William’s sworn statement made in Mason Co., KY in 1833 also says he enlisted in Capt. Brady’s company in Stephenson’s Regiment. William Rankin’s Pension Application, Fold3.com at 1, 3. So far as I know, Fold3.com is the only online source for original pension file images.

[8] See, e.g., muster roll dated 16 May 1777 for Capt. Gabriel Long’s company at camp near Bound Brook, NJ, with detachments from Capt. West’s, Shepherd’s and Brady’s companies, in the 11th VA Regiment commanded by Col. Daniel Morgan. Sergeant Robert Rankin is listed as a member of Capt. Brady’s company, attached to Long’s company. United States Revolutionary War Records, FHL film/fiche number 7197155, image 551. We found no muster or pay rolls for 1776 naming individual soldiers. By May 1777, the remains of Rawlings’ Rifle Regiment were assigned to the 11th Virginia Regiment. The remaining riflemen after the disastrous loss at Ft. Washington had been assigned to either a composite rifle company (such as the one in which Sgt. Rankin is listed, above) or a provisional rifle company. Both were commanded by Captain Gabriel Long.

[9] There were about 3,000 defenders at Ft. Washington against 8,000 British and German troops. There is a painting of Ft. Washington overlooking the river online here.

[10] The site of Fort Washington is now Bennett Park on Fort Washington Avenue between West 183rd and 185th Streets, a few blocks north of the George Washington Bridge. The locations of the fort’s walls are marked in the park by stones. Nearby is a tablet indicating that it is the highest natural point on Manhattan Island, a prime reason for the fort’s location.

[11] Dandridge, Historic Shepherdstown 166-67.

[12] Here is a  discussion of “Prisoner of War Facts.”

[13] Hentz, Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment 16, Note 67, which says Blackwell’s company “had difficulty recruiting even close to full strength, with the effort extending into early 1777.” The company did not join the Main Army until April 1777, when the army was still in winter quarters near Morristown. Id. at 15.

[14] Id. at 16, Note 67. Blackwell’s company arrived at Morristown as the sixth company of the 11th Virginia Regiment, having never “taken up arms” as part of Rawlings’ Regiment.

[15] An advance element of 13 men from Long’s company reached New York ahead of the rest. They were captured at Ft. Washington. A muster roll of Long’s company in April 1778 states those 13 men were captured. United States Revolutionary War Rolls, Film/fiche number 7197155, image 551.

[16] We found no list of all Ft. Washington prisoners by name. However, a 1778 report by Col. Moses Rawlings about his regiment names company officers who died or were taken prisoner. Hentz, Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment 13 (hereafter, “Rawlings’ Report”). The report establishes that West’s, Shepherd’s, and Brady’s Companies were in the battle, as were 13 men from Long’s Company.

[17] Based on information in Rawlings Report, Gary estimates that 264 out of 297 riflemen engaged at Ft. Washington were killed or captured.

[18] Rawlings Report states that West’s three junior officers were all taken prisoner, as were Capt. Shepherd and two of his three junior officers. One of Brady’s three junior officers was killed and one was captured. After Ft. Washington, the men in those three rifle companies (West’s, Shepherd’s, and Brady’s) who were neither killed nor captured were attached to the composite rifle company commanded by Capt. Gabriel Long.

[19] United States Revolutionary War Rolls, FHL film/fiche number 7197160, image 275.

[20] William Rankin’s Pension Application, Fold3.com at 3.

[21] Id. William stated he was age 74 when he applied for a pension in November 1833.

[22] It isn’t clear why Robert Rankin was not in the battle at Ft. Washington. He may have been across the Hudson River at Ft. Lee. All three of the Virginia rifle regiment companies who fought at Ft. Washington (West’s, Shepherd’s, and Brady’s) were at Ft. Lee on Nov. 13, 1776, three days before the battle. A return of Rawlings’ Regiment on that date indicates that 48 out of 293 enlisted men were sick. Hentz, Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment 12, Note 50. Perhaps Robert was among them, although that is pure speculation. In any event, it is virtually certain that Robert was not in the battle despite having been in Capt. Brady’s company because (1) he was not taken prisoner there and (2) his widow Peggy did not list Ft. Washington as a battle in which Robert participated. Nevertheless, payroll and muster roll records after Ft. Washington consistently place Robert in Brady’s company.

“Follow the land” theory: believe it or not

Would you believe me if I told you that three deeds – just three deeds – could conclusively prove the names of eight of a couple’s nine children, the family’s migration history, the surnames of married daughters, and the given names of two sons-in-law? No? Oh, ye of little faith! Please keep reading.

This is another paean to deeds as a family history research tool.[1] It is also a tip of the hat to Jessica Guyer. She abstracted deeds in several Pennsylvania counties in an effort to break through her Rankin brick wall. Three deeds she found in Westmoreland County are the genealogical gold mine described above. The deeds concern the family of David and Frances (“Fanny”) Campbell Rankin, originally of Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

The story in short

Ferreting out David and Fanny’s story requires slogging through deeds concerning tracts of land in two Pennsylvania counties. The deeds mention bequests in a will, inheritance via intestacy, two trusts, judgments, and a court-ordered confirmation deed. All in the arcane language of 19th-century deeds written in tiny, cramped, handwriting.

For those of us whose brains are addled by cabin fever during the coronavirus nightmare, here is the CliffsNotes version of their story. It is easier on one’s eyesight and sanity than the original deeds. Connoisseurs of evidence and other gluttons for punishment can find citations to deeds in the footnotes.

David and Fanny originally lived in Antrim, Peters, and Montgomery Townships in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.[2] David, born in 1777, was a son of William and Mary Huston Rankin of Antrim Township in Franklin (formerly Cumberland) County.[3] Fanny was a daughter of Dugal/Dougal Campbell.[4] The 200-acre Franklin tract Fanny inherited from her father became security for her family’s financial future, along with legacies David’s mother Mary left to their children.[5]

By the 1820s, David was deeply in debt to Archibald Bard, a Franklin County justice.[6] To secure judgments “and other monies owed,” David pledged both the tract Fanny inherited from her father and his children’s legacies from his mother. Bard was entitled to sell the land and retain the proceeds, as well as the legacies from Mary Rankin, to apply to David’s debt. Bard was to use any surplus to purchase “lands to the west.” Bard was to hold the land in trust for the maintenance of Fanny and her children. Bard purchased a tract in Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, called the “Dailey Farm.” For reasons unknown, David’s debts to Bard weren’t repaid until the Dailey Farm was sold.[7]

By at least 1830, the family had moved to Westmoreland.[8] David’s financial troubles must not have tarnished his reputation, because he was a justice there.[9] From Westmoreland, the Rankins moved to Allen County, Indiana.[10] Finally, the family relocated to Des Moines County, Iowa Territory about 1838.[11] In 1844, the Rankins executed a deed from Iowa confirming the prior sale of the Dailey Farm to Gilbert Beck.[12] The entire family (including two living sons-in-law) acknowledged the deed in Burlington, Iowa. Only Fanny, who apparently died before 1840, and Adam John Rankin, who died in 1842, were not parties to the 1844 deed.

Voilà! Only three deeds identified this entire family and unlocked its path westward. If you’re interested in this Rankin family, please thank Jessica Guyer.

The children

Finally, here are David and Fanny’s nine children. I drilled down in the records just far enough to help anyone who is interested to track this family. Except for Betsey’s interesting will, I didn’t find any good stories, so these are just a few bare facts.

William Rankin, b. 5 Jan 1807, Franklin Co., PA, d. 2 Jan 1873 Des Moines Co., IA.[13] He was listed in two federal censuses in Huron Township, Des Moines with his wife Martha Jane Gray[14] and their children Frances Elizabeth (“Libby”) Rankin, Samuel Bruce Rankin, and Areta Catherine Rankin Tewksbury.[15]William’s sister Betsey’s will (see below) named all three children and helped flesh out their full names.[16]

Elizabeth “Betsey” Rankin was born 3 Feb 1803 in Franklin Co., PA, and died 5 July 1888 in Des Moines Co.[17] Betsey left a remarkable will identifying two of her three sisters, four of her five brothers, a host of nieces and nephews, and some of her siblings’ grandchildren.[18] Betsey left cash legacies to all of them. Unfortunately, her estate assets consisted entirely of notes, primarily on family members. Most of the notes were barred by the statute of limitations because they were long since overdue. Some were uncollectable. As a result, the administration of Betsey’s estate consisted primarily of (1) collecting on the few good notes, (2) paying $500 to her brother Archibald for taking care of her during the last five years of her long life, (3) payment to the administrator for his work, (4) obtaining releases from beneficiaries who agreed to waive payment of their legacies in exchange for forgiveness of their notes, and (5) paying one or two small legacies. Betsey and her administrator went to a lot of trouble for virtually no financial benefit to her family. Her big probate file, however, is a wonderful legacy for Rankin researchers. Question: where did she get the money to loan to her relatives?

Martha C. Rankin, b. Franklin Co., PA on 22 Nov 1805. She married a Mr. Sweeny/Swenny/Sweeney, given name unknown. She may have married in Indiana because her one child was born there. Martha was living with her father David in 1850 in Des Moines,[19] and with her daughter and sister Betsey in 1856.[20] Her only known child was Frances C. Sweeny, born in Indiana about 1836. A solid bet is that Frances’s middle name was Campbell.

Mary H. Rankin, b. Franklin Co., PA on 6 Feb 1809, d. Iowa 12 Nov 1885.[21] Her husband was James Bruce. Taken together, the census records from 1850 through 1870 suggest their children were (1) Martha (“Mattie”) Bruce, b. 1842, (2) Lawrence H. C. Bruce, b. 1844, (3) David R. (Rankin) Bruce, b. 1846, (4) Sarah Bruce, b. 1849, and (5) Margaret Bruce, b. 1851.[22] Mary’s sister Betsey’s will named all of them except Lawrence, who probably predeceased her. Betsey identified Mary Bruce’s married daughters as M. B. Bruce Cartwright (Martha), S. J. (Sarah Jane) Bruce Yost, and M. B. (Margaret) Crowder. Online trees name a dizzying array of additional children for James and Mary, most of which are error.

Dougal/Dugal Campbell Rankin, b. Franklin Co. on 10 Apr 1811, d. Yellow Springs Township, Des Moines Co., IA, 21 Feb 1885.[23] His wife was Mary Johnson. He is buried in the Round Prairie Presbyterian Cemetery in Des Moines Co. Census records from 1860 through 1880 suggest their children were (1) David C. Rankin, b. abt. 1853, (2) Hezekiah Johnson Rankin, b. abt. 1855, (3) Sarah F. Rankin, b. abt. 1858, and (4) John William Rankin, b. abt. 1860.[24] Dougal was still alive when his sister Betsey wrote her will, so she named Dougal rather than his children as her beneficiary.

Frances Rankin (Jr.) was born 1 Jan 1814 and baptized 9 May 1814 in the Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague (the “Upper West Church”) near Mercersburg, Franklin Co., PA.[25] Frances married James Waddle.[26] The only record I have for this couple is the 1856 Iowa State Census in Yellow Springs Township, Des Moines County.[27] He was a merchant. The couple had no children, so far as I know. Her sister Betsey Rankin’s will didn’t mention either Frances or any children.

David Huston Rankin was born 14 Mar 1817 and baptized 28 Apr 1817 in the Upper West Church. He married Mary A. Oliver on 5 Jun 1844 in Des Moines.[28] The couple is listed in the federal census for Des Moines Co. in 1850 and 1860.[29] They moved to Garnett, Anderson Co., KS by 1870, where David was an innkeeper. The 1870 federal census and his sister Betsey’s will suggest that David and Mary had two daughters: Martha (“Mattie”) C. Rankin Osborne and Fannie Rankin Rice.[30] Fannie married James Wesley Rice, the Garnett postmaster, and had a son named Rankin Rice. David died on 19 Jan 1874 and is buried in the Garnett Cemetery in Anderson Co.[31] There was apparently an obituary for him, although I have not found it.

Archibald Rankin was b. 1 Aug 1819, Franklin Co., PA and baptized 10 Oct 1819 in the Upper West Church. He died 4 Mar 1889 in Kossuth, Des Moines Co., IA. His wife was Lydia Blair. They had three daughters: Elizabeth J. Rankin, b. abt 1854 (married William B. Reed), Frances Margaret or Margaret Frances Rankin, b. abt 1858, and Martha Catharine Rankin, baptized on 7 Apr 1866 in the Round Prairie Presbyterian Church.[32] Archibald is buried in the Kossuth Cemetery in Mediapolis, Des Moines Co.[33]

Adam John Rankin, b. 29 Dec 1821, Franklin Co., baptized 13 Feb 1822 in the Upper West Church, d. 8 Jul 1842. Apparently never married. Buried in the Round Prairie Presbyterian Cemetery in Des Moines, County.[34]

And that may be more than I know about David and Frances Campbell Rankin’s family. See you on down the road.

Robin

[1] See another article about the “follow the land” theory of genealogical research in the article titled “Adam and Mary Steele Alexander Rankin’s Son William: “Follow the Land” at this link.  There is a similar article about the value of deeds in family history research about the children of Lyddal Bacon Estes and “Nancy” Ann Allen Winn here.

[2] 1810 federal census, Antrim Twp., Franklin Co., PA, listing for David Rankin, 10020-31111; 1820 federal census, Peters Twp., Franklin Co., PA, David Rankin, 310010-12022; Franklin Deed Book 14: 266, deed dated 28 Aug 1827 from David and wife Frances Rankin of Montgomery Twp.

[3] The Pennsylvania Archives confused William and Mary Huston Rankin’s son David (married to Frances Campbell) with his cousin David. The latter David was a son of James Sr. and Jean Rankin, also of Franklin Co. See the 1792 will of William Rankin of Antrim Township naming inter alia his wife Mary and his son David, Franklin Will Book A: 256, and the 1788 will of James Rankin Sr. of Montgomery Township naming inter alia his wife Jean and son David, Franklin Will Book A: 345. David’s birth year is established by the family Bible, as well as the 1850 federal census and his tombstone. An article addressing the Archives error can be found in the article titled “Will the “Correct” David Rankin of Franklin County Please Stand Up?” here.

[4] The identity of Fanny’s father is established by a deed. Franklin Co., PA Deed Book 14:245, quitclaim deed dated 5 Dec 1827 from the children of John Beatty to David and Frances Rankin and Archibald Bard. The deed recites that Dongal [sic, Dugal or Dougal] Campbell died intestate owning 400 acres. The tract descended “in coparcenary” to his daughters Frances Campbell Rankin (wife of David Rankin) and Elizabeth Campbell Beatty (wife of John Beatty). Each sister’s share was called a “purpart.” If you know what those terms mean, you need to get a life! “Coparcenary” describes the ownership of land that two sisters inherited from their father who died intestate with no male heirs. “Purpart” means each sister’s share. Fanny’s share of the coparcenary tract was held in trust by Bard (see Note 7) to secure debts David owed. The Beatty children promised in the quitclaim deed not to make any claim to Fanny’s purpart.

[5] Franklin Co., PA Deed Book 14: 97, deed of trust (“DOT”) dated Dec 1826 from David Rankin and wife Frances of Montgomery Twp. to Archibald Bard, Esq. The DOT secured David’s debts to Bard with the coparcenary tract and legacies bequeathed by Mary Rankin to some of David and Frances’s children. Mary (Huston) Rankin’s will can be found at this link.

[6] Westmoreland Co., PA Deed Book 29: 470, reciting that Bard had judgments aga.inst David of $1,602.91, plus “other moneys owing and due.”

[7] Id., deed dated 27 Mar 1832 from David Rankin and his wife Frances of Rostraver Township in Westmoreland Co. and Archibald Bard of Franklin Co., grantors, to William Rankin and Dugell (sic) Rankin, sons of David. The deed recites the terms of the Franklin Co. deed of trust (Franklin Co., PA Deed Book 14: 97), stating that Bard could satisfy David’s debts with proceeds from the sale of the coparcenary tract and the legacies Mary Rankin left to David’s children. Money left over was to be invested by Bard in “lands to the west to be conveyed to and vested in Bard” for the support of Frances and her children. Apparently, the debts were not repaid from the sale of the coparcenary tract. Instead, Bard contracted with a Philadelphia bank to purchase a tract in Westmoreland Co. The deed provided that (1) the Dailey Farm would be sold to Gilbert Beck, (2) Archibald Bard would be repaid from the proceeds and released of his trustee duties, (3) Gilbert Beck would pay to William and Dougal Rankin the legacies from Mary Rankin, and (4) the residue from the sale would be used to buy “lands to the west.” Newly purchased land was to be conveyed to William and Dougal in trust for the use of Frances Rankin and her children and heirs. There is a lot going on in that deed. I recommend you read the original if you are interested in this family.

[8] Id. Grantors David and Frances Rankin were “of” Rostraver Township, Westmoreland Co. in 1832. See also the 1830 census, Westmoreland Co., PA, Rostraver Twp., listing for David Rankin, Esqr., 01211001-00022001.

[9] See 1830 federal census, Note 8. Usually, the honorific “Esquire” was reserved for judges. I have not confirmed in Westmoreland court records that David was a justice.

[10] Westmoreland Co., PA Deed Book 29: 470-71, deed dated 26 Mar 1834 from “Sundry Rankins,” as the deed book calls them: David, Frances (Sr.), William, Betsey, Martha, Mary, Frances (Jr.), David H. (Huston), and Dougel C. (Campbell) Rankin of Indiana, grantors, to Gilbert Beck, the Dailey Farm. The Rankins acknowledged the deed in Allen Co., Indiana.

[11] 1856 Iowa State Census, listing #198 for James Waddle, 45, merchant, b. OH, and Frances (Rankin) Waddle, 43, b. PA; both have resided in Iowa for 18 years. Also listing #199, Elizabeth Rankin, 50, b. PA, and Martha C. (Rankin) Sweeny, 48, b. PA, both have resided in Iowa 18 years, with Frances C. Sweeny, 20 (Martha’s daughter), b. Indiana abt. 1836.

[12] Westmoreland Co., PA Deed Book 29: 471-72, deed dated 24 Feb 1844 from David Rankin, Betsey Rankin, Martha Sweney (whose husband must have been deceased, since he was not a party), William Rankin, James Bruce and wife Mary (Rankin) Bruce, Dugal Campbell Rankin, James Waddle and wife  Francis (Rankin) Waddle, David Huston Rankin, and Archibald Rankin, all of Des Moines County, Iowa Territory, to Gilbert Beck. This deed simply confirms the sale of the Dailey Farm to Beck, who complained that he had never received a deed. The entire Rankin family signed the deed except for Frances (Sr.), who probably died in Indiana, and the Rankins’ youngest son John Adam Rankin, who died in 1842.

[13] See the Find-a-grave image of William Rankin’s tombstone, Round Prairie Presbyterian Cemetery, Des Moines Co., IA, here.

[14] Martha Jane Rankin’s tombstone in the Round Prairie is inscribed “wife of William Rankin.” Available at the Find-a-Grave website.

[15] 1860 federal census, Huron Twp., Des Moines, IA, dwelling #91, William Rankin, 53, $5,700/$700, b. PA, Martha Rankin 27, b. Illinois, Frances Rankin, 5, b. IA, and Samuel Rankin, 4, b. IA; 1870 federal census, Huron Twp., dwelling 72, William Rankin, 63, farmer, b. PA, $8800/$1825, Martha Jane Rankin, 34, b. Illinois, Elizabeth Rankin, 15, b. IA, Samuel B. Rankin, 14, farm hand, b. IA, and Areta Rankin, 3?, female, b. IA.

[16] See Note 18 for Betsey’s beneficiaries. Here is a find-a-grave image of Samuel Bruce Rankin’s tombstone,tombstone, ,  and one for his sister Areta Catherine Rankin Tewksbury.

[17] Betsey’s birth year in the census vary between 1802 and 1807. In the 1856 Iowa state census, she was age 50 (born about 1806); 1860 Des Moines census, age 57 (born about 1803); 1870 Des Moines Co. census, age 67 (born about 1807); 1880 Des Moines census, age 78 (about 1802); 1885 Iowa State census, age 83 (1802). Find-a-Grave doesn’t have an image of Betsy’s tombstone, but claims her death is recorded in the register of Round Prairie Cemetery in Des Moines, Co. and that Betsey was born in Feb. 1803.

[18] Images of original records available online at FamilySearch.org, Des Moines Co., IA Probate records, Film #007594729, image #315 et seq. Will of Betsy Rankin of Des Moines Co. dated 29 Nov 1881, proved 17 Sep 1888, recorded in Will Book D: 111. Beneficiaries: sister Mary Bruce; brothers D. C. Rankin (Dougal Campbell) and Archibald Rankin; children of William Rankin, dec’d (S. Bruce Rankin, Libbie Rankin, and Areta Rankin); Martha C. Osborne, daughter of David H. Rankin, dec’d, and Rankin Rice, grandson of David H. Rankin; John W. Rhea, grandson of sister Martha C. Sweeney, dec’d. James Bruce, brother-in-law, executor. By the time the will was probated, James Bruce had died, so the court appointed William Harper administrator with the will annexed. Administrator’s bond named her heirs as (1) brother A. Rankin, (2) deceased brother William Rankin’s children (Frances E. Rankin, Samuel B. Rankin, and A. C. Tewksbury); (3) children of deceased sister M. H. Bruce (D. B. Bruce, M. B. Cartwright, S. J. Yost? and M. B. Crowder); (4) children of deceased brother D. C. (Dougal Campbell) Rankin (D. C. Rankin, H. J. Rankin, Sarah F. Rankin, and J. W. Rankin); (5) Martha C. Osborne, daughter of deceased brother D. H. (David Huston) Rankin, and Rankin Rice, grandson of D. H. Rankin; and (6) John W. Rhea, grandson of deceased sister Martha C. Sweeney.

[19] 1850 federal census, Huron Twp, Des Moines Co., IA, dwelling #496, listing for David Rankin, 73, farmer, b. PA (abt 1777), $2800, with Martha Rankin, 35, PA, Dugald Camel (sic, Campbell), 30, PA, and Frances Camel (sic), 14, Indiana. I believe that Dugald is actually a Rankin – Dougal Campbell Rankin, son of David. Martha Rankin is probably David’s daughter Martha Rankin Sweeney. Frances Campbell is probably Martha’s daughter Frances C. Sweeney. Considering other information, that seems the most sensible way to interpret that otherwise baffling census listing.

[20] 1856 Iowa State Census, listing #199: Elizabeth Rankin, 50, PA, b. abt 1806. Has resided in Iowa 18 years. Martha C. (Rankin) Sweeny, 48, PA, b. abt 1808. Also resided in Iowa 18 years. Frances C. Sweeny, 20, b. Indiana about 1836.

[21] The Find-a-Grave image for the Bruces’ tombstone incorrectly names Mary’s mother as Frances Huston rather than Frances Campbell Rankin. See it here.

[22] See 1850 federal census, Yellow Springs Township, Des Moines Co., IA, household of James Bruce, 30, farmer, $2,000, b. OH, Mary (Rankin) Bruce, 30 (wrong age), Martha Bruce, 8, Lawrence Bruce, 6, David Bruce, 4, and Sarah Bruce, 1, all children b. IA; 1856 Iowa State Census, Yellow Springs Twp., James Bruce, 42, b. VA, Mary Bruce, 45, b. PA, Martha E. Bruce, 14, L.H.C. (Lawrence) Bruce, 12, David R. Bruce, 10, Sarah J. Bruce, 7, and Margaret Bruce;  1860 federal census, Des Moines, Yellow Springs Twp., dwl 249, James Bruce, 46, farmer, b. VA, Mary Bruce, 50, PA, Martha Bruce, 17, Florence (sic, Lawrence) Bruce, 16, David Bruce, 14, Sarah Bruce, 11, and Margaret Bruce, 9, all children b. Iowa; 1870 federal census, Yellow Springs Twp., dwl 252, James Bruce, 56, $6525/2010, Mary H. Bruce, 60, PA, Mattie Bruce, 28, IA, and Margarite Bruce, 19, IA (adjacent the household of David R. Bruce, 25, and Ellen Bruce, 25).

[23] FHL Film #956344, Iowa Deaths and Burials, 1850 – 1990.

[24] 1860 federal census, Kossuth PO, Yellow Springs Township, Des Moines, household of Dugald Rankin, 43, farmer, b. PA, Mary Rankin, 36, b. PA, David Rankin, 7, b. IA, Johnson Rankin, 5, IA, Sarah Rankin, 2, IA, and William Rankin, 10 months, IA. 1870 federal census, Yellow Springs, household of D. C. Rankin, 58, $4,860/$1500, b. PA, David C. Rankin, 17, Hezekiah J. Rankin, 15, Sarah F. Rankin, 12, John W. Rankin, 10, all children b. IA. 1880 census, Yellow Springs, household of D. C. Rankin, 69, widowed, b. PA, parents b. PA, son David C. Rankin, 27, farmer, and son Hezekiah J. Rankin, 25, teacher.

[25] The source for the baptism records is the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records, database available online at Ancestry.com titled “Pennsylvania and New Jersey Church and Town Records, 1669-2013.” Frances Rankin, David Huston Rankin, Archibald Rankin, and Adam John Rankin are listed as children of David Rankin, along with their baptism dates, in the Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague.

[26] Westmoreland Co., PA Deed Book 29: 471-472, the 1844 deed from “Sundry Rankins” to Gilbert Beck signed inter alia by James Waddle and wife Frances (Rankin) Waddle.

[27] 1856 Iowa State Census, Yellow Springs Twp., Des Moines Co., listing for James Waddle, 45, merchant, b. OH. Has resided in Iowa 18 years. Frances (Rankin) Waddle, 43, b. PA, has also resided in Iowa for 18 years.

[28] Compiled Iowa Marriages, available online at Ancestry.com.

[29] 1850 federal census, Yellow Springs Twp., Des Moines, IA, David H. Rankin, 33, farmer, $1000, b. PA, dwl #393, Mary Ann Rankin, 32, NJ?, Margret Rankin, 4, IA, Martha Rankin, 2, IA, Samuel Dickey, 40, PA, Rebecca Dickie, 36, PA, and William Dickie, 14, Indiana; 1860 federal census, Huron Twp, Des Moines Co., IA, dwelling #122 (adjacent Archibald Rankin): David Rankin, 43, farmer, b. PA, Mary Rankin, 40, b. NJ, Margaret Rankin, 14, IA, and Martha Rankin, 12, IA.

[30] 1870 federal census, Garnett, Anderson Co., KS, David H.? Rankin, 53, b. PA, hotel keeper, $6800/1200, listed with (among others) May A. Rankin, 52, b. NJ, Mattie C. Rankin, 21, IA, James W. Rice, 33, postmaster, and Fannie? Rice, 24, b. IA. Betsey Rankin’s will named David’s daughter Martha C. Osborne and David’s grandson Rankin Rice.

[31] Here is an image of David Huston Rankin’s tombstone at the Find-a-grave website, Garnett Cemetery..

[32] 1860 federal census, Huron Twp, Des Moines Co., IA, dwelling #123, household of Archibald Rankin, 41, $2,500/$805, b. PA, Lydia Rankin, 35?, b. IL, Elizabeth Rankin, 4, IA, and Frances M. Rankin, 2, IA. 1870 federal census, Huron Twp., Archibald Rankin, 50, $500/$2100, b. PA. dwl 107, Lydia Rankin, 48, b. IL, Elizabeth J. Rankin, 14, IA, Frances M. Rankin, 12, IA, and Martha C. Rankin, 4, IA. 1880 federal census, Huron Twp., Des Moines Co., IA, Archibald Rankin, 61, b. PA, parents b. PA, farmer, Lydia Rankin, wife, 58, daughters Elizabeth J. Rankin, 24, Frances M. Rankin, 21, and Martha C. Rankin, 14.

[33] Here is an image of Archibald’s tombstone.. I have no idea where anyone came up with the middle name “August” (some online trees show it as “Augustus”). Arch was baptized in the Upper West Conococheague church along with two brothers whose baptism records expressly list their middle names (David Huston Rankin and Adam John Rankin). If Archibald ever had a middle name, it would surely have shown up in those church records. Give us all a break.

[34] Tombstone image available on Find-a-Grave  here.

My Hair’s on Fire: Introduction to Lt. Robert Rankin (part 1 of 5)

This title doesn’t do justice to the Southern roots of the “hair” idiom. It should be rendered phonetically: “mah har’s on far.” What does it mean? A feeling of being overwhelmed gets to the essence.

The Rankin families of Virginia’s Northern Neck are guaranteed fire starters in the “overwhelming” sense. There are too many Rankin records in too many counties with too many interconnected families along for the ride. [1]

I flailed about in county records for Northern Neck Rankins several years ago. Mah har caught far and I abandoned them on some flimsy pretext. This time around, I vowed to limit my research to Robert Rankin (1753-1837), a Revolutionary War soldier buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Lieutenant was his highest rank in the Revolution, so I will call him Lt. Robert. My major objective was to identify his parents. Spoiler alert: so far, all we can conclusively prove about Lt. Robert’s family of origin is that he had brothers named William and John.[2].

[Update alert: I believe there is proof for additional brothers. Will revise when time permits.]

Lt. Robert’s story has several parts. I have spread them out over four articles:

  • This Part 1 is an introduction. It includes a piece on Lt. Robert from the Handbook of Texas Online, quoted verbatim. The article about Lt. Robert contains one substantive error, which I discuss. Part 1 also includes an oral legend about the reinterment of Lt. Robert’s remains in the Texas State Cemetery. It may raise eyebrows. Like most legends, it probably contains elements of both truth and fiction. You be the judge.
  • Parts 2 through 4 cover the military service of Lt. Robert and his brother William. Part 2 focuses on the Revolutionary War history relevant to both Rankins. Parts 3 and 4 cover the brothers’ individual war stories. These articles are sourced almost entirely in military records and academic histories. The records contradict some of the conventional wisdom about Lt. Robert and a wild claim or two. If you wish to believe that George Washington personally handed Lt. Robert his discharge papers and called him “Colonel,” these articles might be a problem.

If I ever get to Virginia for additional research, I hope to add a Part 5 with possible identification of Lt. Robert’s parents. For now, let’s start with the article about him in The Handbook of Texas Online.[3] It covers essential facts and includes several informative links. Embedded comments in italics are mine.

“RANKIN, ROBERT (1753–1837). Revolutionary War veteran Robert Rankin was born in the colony of Virginia in 1753. He entered the service of the Continental Army in 1776 with the Third Regiment of the Virginia line [this is incorrect, see discussion below] and participated in the battles of Germantown, Brandywine, and Stony Point, as well as the siege of Charleston, where he was captured; he remained a prisoner of war until exchanged, at which time he received a promotion to lieutenant [his date of promotion was more complicated than that, but that’s close.]. On October 1, 1781, during a furlough, he married Margaret (Peggy) Berry in Frederick County, Virginia. He returned to active duty on October 15 and served until the war’s end [whatever that means]. Robert and Margaret Rankin had three daughters and seven sons, one of whom was Frederick Harrison Rankin. The family moved to Kentucky in 1784. In 1786 Rankin was named by the Virginia legislature as one of nine trustees for the newly established town of Washington, in Bourbon County (later Mason County), Kentucky. In 1792 he served as a delegate from Mason County to the Danville Convention, which drafted the first constitution of Kentucky. He also became an elector of the Kentucky Senate of 1792. The last mention of Rankin in Mason County, Kentucky, is in the 1800 census. The Rankins moved to Logan County, Kentucky, in 1802 and to the Tombigbee River in Mississippi Territory in 1811; the area of their home eventually became Washington County, Alabama. Four of the Rankin sons fought in the War of 1812. The family suffered a severe financial reversal around 1819–20, probably in conjunction with land speculation and the panic of 1819. In July 1828 Rankin first made an application for a pension for his Revolutionary War service.

In 1832 the Rankins moved to Joseph Vehlein‘s colony in Texas, along with the William Butler and Peter Cartwright families. Rankin was issued a certificate of character by Jesse Grimes on November 3, 1834, as required by the Mexican government. He applied for a land grant in Vehlein’s colony on November 13 of the same year and received a league and labor in October 1835.[4] The town of Coldspring, San Jacinto County, is located on Rankin’s original grant. Rankin had the reputation of being a just and diplomatic man. He was a friend of Sam Houston, and his influence with the Indians in the region was well known. Houston reputedly called upon him in the spring of 1836 to encourage neutrality among the Indians during the crucial Texan retreat toward San Jacinto. Toward the end of 1836 Rankin became ill, and he and his wife moved to St. Landry parish, Louisiana, where he died on November 13, 1837.[5] His body was brought back to the family home near Coldspring, in the new Republic of Texas, and buried in the old Butler Cemetery. In 1936 he was reinterred at the State  Cemetery in Austin. His widow lived in Texas with her sons, William and Frederick, in Polk, Montgomery, and Liberty counties until her death sometime after December 1852.”

The only substantive error in the above article is the unit in which Lt. Robert enlisted, a frequent and understandable mistake. The confusion is attributable to lack of clarity by Robert himself and perhaps sheer confusion due to military reorganizations and changes in company commanders. Statements about his rank are also occasionally in error.[6]

To set the record straight, here is a chronological list of his units and his rank. For citations to military muster and payroll sources, please see the detailed discussion of Lt. Robert’s record in Part 4 of these articles. Here is what the records prove:

  • July 1776 – Robert enlisted as a private in William Brady’s Company of Col. Hugh Stephenson’s (later Rawlings’) Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment. This regiment was not a part of the Virginia line; the Rifle Regiment was independent of state control, see Part 2 of this series. Robert did not enlist in the 3rd Virginia Regiment as the Handbook asserts. The Rifle Regiment also included a company other than Capt. Brady’s in which the future justice John Marshall was originally a Lieutenant, then a Captain.  John Marshall was never one of Robert’s commanding officers.
  • By January 1777 – Robert was a Sergeant in Capt. Brady’s Company and was attached to Capt. Gabriel Long’s composite rifle company. Long’s composite company was organized after the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment was decimated at Ft. Washington, New York in November 1776. Long’s composite company was assigned to the 11th Virginia Regiment in February 1777. Robert may have been promoted from Private to Sergeant before Brady’s company ever left Virginia because enlisted men were sometimes allowed to elect their own noncommissioned officers.
  • February 1778 – Robert was still a Sergeant, now in Philip Slaughter’s Company (formerly Capt. Long’s) in the 11thVirginia Regiment at Valley Forge. Robert did not change companies. The company commander changed after Long resigned his commission.
  • September 1778 – the Virginia line was “rearranged” (i.e., “reorganized”) and the 11th Virginia Regiment was renamed the 7th. Robert, still a Sergeant, was Acting Brigade Forage Master in Capt. Porterfield’s company of the 7th Virginia Regiment. Again, this was the same company but with a new commander.
  • July 1779 – Robert was commissioned an Ensign and assigned to William Johnson’s company of the 7th Virginia Regiment. This was the only time Robert actually changed companies, presumably to accommodate company grade staffing needs.
  • November 1779 – Ensign Robert Rankin was still in Captain Johnson’s Company in the 7th Virginia Regiment. Later in 1779 or in early 1780, the former 7th Virginia Regiment was folded into the 1st Virginia Regiment in another “rearrangement” of the Virginia Line.
  • May 1780 – this was the Siege of Charleston, where the 1st Virginia Regiment was surrendered along with all other patriot units fighting there. Johnson’s company was still part of the 1st Virginia. After the Siege, Robert was awarded a promotion to Brevet Lieutenant, a temporary designation. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant sans the temporary “Brevet.” His promotion and date of rank were retroactive to January 1, 1780.
  • Robert was “deranged” (discharged) effective January 1, 1783. If I counted correctly, there were 222 other officers of the Virginia Line who were discharged the same day.[7] It’s a solid bet that General Washington was not passing out discharge papers to 223 men in different locations.

Reading between the lines, it is obvious that Robert was an exceptional soldier, acting as Brigade Forage Master and rising from a private to a commissioned officer. The latter is unusual, even in wartime. It is also clear from the records that Robert was never a soldier in Lieutenant (later Captain) John Marshall’s company. Nor did he enlist or ever serve in the 3rd Virginia Regiment.

In addition to the other accomplishments in Kentucky listed in the Handbook article, Lt. Robert was a Colonel in the Kentucky militia as the commander of a group of scouts.[8] He was also a clerk of court in Mason County.[9]

Robert and his family moved south and west. They lived in Frederick County, Virginia; the Kentucky District, State of Virginia; Bourbon, Mason, and Logan Counties, Kentucky (Bourbon was originally part of the Kentucky District); Washington County, Alabama when it was part of the Mississippi Territory; Texas Territory when it was still part of Mexico; the Republic of Texas; and St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, where Lt. Robert died.[10] Peggy also lived in the state of Texas after it was admitted to the Union in 1845.

Lt. Robert and Peggy Rankin’s three daughters and seven sons are conclusively proved. The first eight children and their dates of birth are proved by a transcribed page from the family Bible that is included in Peggy’s 1844 application for a widow’s pension.[11] Peggy’s will named the two children who weren’t included in the Bible record.[12] Here are the ten children:

  1. Thomas Berry Rankin (Sr.) was born in Virginia, 17 May 1783. He was named for his maternal grandfather. He and his younger brother Joseph both died in 1813 at Ft. Mims during the Red Stick War.[13] Thomas B. and/or Joseph Rankin had children who came to Texas prior to its independence from Mexico. Character certificates in the Texas General Land Office suggest the identities of two sons: James Rankin and William Rankin.[14] Lt. Robert’s grant for land in Joseph Vehlein’s colony[15] in Texas (then part of Mexico) states that he came to Texas with “mi mujer y tres huerfanos” – wife and three orphans, surely children of one of his sons who died at Ft. Mims.[16]
  2. Elizabeth Rankin was born 27 Jan 1785, also in Virginia. I have found no further record of Elizabeth. She was probably one of the four Rankin children who had died before Peggy Rankin filed her 1844 pension application.
  3. William Marshall Rankin was born 24 Aug 1786 in Bourbon County, Kentucky District of Virginia.[17] His wife was Sarah Landrum. Four related Rankin/Landrum families all arrived in Texas in January 1830:[18] (1) William Marshall and Sarah Landrum Rankin, (2) Sarah’s parents Zachariah and Lettice Landrum, (3) William’s sister Frances Rankin Huburt and her husband M. Huburt, and (4) a young William Rankin who was almost certainly a son of one of the two Rankins who died at Ft. Mims. William and Sarah Landrum Rankin were in Montgomery County, Texas in the 1850 census.
  4. Joseph Rankin was born 4 Nov 1788 in Kentucky. He died at Ft. Mims.[19]
  5. John Keith Rankin fought in the War of 1812. He was born 5 Jan 1791 in Kentucky. He and his wife Elizabeth Butler moved from Washington County, Alabama to Hinds County, Mississippi. May Myers Calloway, a descendant of theirs, incorrectly believed that John Keith and a Christopher Rankin (for whom Rankin County Mississippi was named) were brothers.[20] John and Elizabeth came to Texas during the 1840s and lived briefly in Polk County before moving to DeWitt County. John died there on 17 Nov 1884. He and Elizabeth had eight children: (1) Moses Butler Rankin, (2) Mary Rankin, (3) Masena Rankin, (4) James Rankin, (5) Samuel Rankin, (6) Mary Ann Rankin, (7) Robert Rankin, and (8) Malinda Rankin.[21]
  6. James Rankin (Sr.)[22] was born 27 Jun 1792 in Kentucky. He died in Texas before 26 Apr 1847, when his mother Peggy wrote her will naming his children John B. Rankin, Berry Rankin, Peggy Rankin, and Rebecca Rankin.[23]
  7. Frederick Harrison Rankin was born Feb. 15, 1794 in Kentucky and died July 2, 1874 in Ellis County, Texas. He received title to land that is now in Harris County as one of Stephen F. Austin’s “Old Three Hundred” colonists. He is on one or more 1826 tax lists in “Austins Colony, Texas Territory” and/or “Austin, Mexicounty Territory.”[24] In 1936, Texas erected a joint monument to Frederick and his wife Elizabeth Smith in the Myrtle Cemetery in Ennis, Ellis County, Texas. Frederick and Elizabeth had eight children: (1) Harriet, (2) Robert S., (3) Napoleon Bonaparte, (4) Emily, (5) Mollie, (6) Alexander, (7) Austin, and (8) a child who died as an infant.[25]
  8. Henry Rankin was born 7 Feb 1796 in Kentucky. I found no further record for Henry. He was probably one of the four Rankin children who had died by 1844 along with Elizabeth and the two brothers who died at Ft. Mims.
  9. Massena Rankin McCombs, wife of Samuel McCombs.[26] Her first husband was a Mr. Brown.
  10. Frances Rankin Hubert also came to Texas in 1830.[27]

Finally, I promised a legend regarding the removal of Lt. Robert’s remains from Coldspring, Texas to the Texas State Cemetery in 1936. I heard it from Mary Buller, a serious Rankin researcher descended from Lt. Robert and Peggy through one of their sons who died at Ft. Mims. Mary learned the story in a telephone conversation with a woman I will call “Faye.” If Faye were still alive in 2020, she would have been in her nineties. She is (or was) a local historian in Coldspring.

Faye said that the family’s side of the reinterment project was spearheaded by a “hoity-toity DAR type” despite opposition from Lt. Robert’s descendants still living in the Coldspring area. The DAR lady was insistent. The descendants capitulated.[28]

Faye told Mary she doesn’t believe Lt. Robert is buried in the Texas State Cemetery. She thought his remains didn’t make it back to Texas from Louisiana. She said that during the 1936 disinterment at the Butler Cemetery in Coldspring, the coffin fell open and a skeleton toppled out. Family members and curiosity seekers were there, according to Faye. The men rushed to put the remains back in the coffin. One man, a dentist, opined that the skeleton’s teeth were not those of an 80-year-old man. They were more like the teeth of a man in his thirties, he said.

According to Faye, the family remained silent and the removal continued. Faye thought that lack of refrigeration in 1837 would have discouraged shipping the remains from St. Landry Parish to Coldspring, a distance of more than 100 miles.[29] She didn’t have an opinion about who is buried in the Texas State Cemetery, but the dental evidence convinced her it isn’t Lt. Robert.

There is also a reasonable possibility that Robert’s presumed grave location in the Butler cemetery was not correct. It was a family cemetery and records may have been unreliable.

Take that for what it’s worth: oral history from someone who heard it from a participant. It may be the most colorful family legend I’ve ever run across.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

[1] Other Northern Neck families connected to the Rankins include Woffendalls (various spellings), Marshalls, Harrisons, Berrys, Keiths, Kendalls, and Keys.

[2] A supporting affidavit in William Rankin’s Revolutionary War pension application proves that Lt. Robert had a brother William. See Part 3 of this series of articles. The will of John Rankin in Mason Co., KY, where the three Rankin brothers lived at one time, mentions his “affectionate brother William.” Mason Co., KY Will Book E: 53, will of John Rankin dated and proved in 1819.

[3] Ann Patton Malone, Handbook of Texas Online, “RANKIN, ROBERT,” accessed January 31, 2020, at this link.. The Handbook is a wonderful source, scholarly and well-written, for information about Texas and its history.

[4] “League” and “labor” refer to the acreage in a grant. A labor was 177 acres and a league was 4,428 acres, according to the Handbook.

[5] All sources agree that Lt. Robert died in November 1837. However, three different specific dates appear in his pension file, number w26365 (cited hereafter as “Pension File,” images available online at Fold.3/Ancestry). Peggy’s 1844 pension declaration gives Lt. Robert’s date of death as November 13, although the spelling of “thirteenth” is confusing. Pension File p. 15 et seq.

[6] A “Biography of Colonel Robert Rankin” on Rootsweb incorrectly asserts that Robert enlisted as a Sergeant. Robert’s pension application identified himself as a private when he enlisted. The Rootsweb article is available at this link.

[7] FamilySearch.org Film # 7197160, images 446 through 453, listing of officers of the Virginia Line deranged 1 Jan 1783.

[8] Robert was never a Colonel in the War, although there are claims to that effect. He was a Colonel in a Kentucky county militia. If you don’t have a Fold.3/Ancestry subscription so that you can view his entire Pension File, see Will Graves’ partial transcription here. See also Murtie June Clark, American Militia in the Frontier Wars, 1790-1796 (Baltimore: Clearfield Publishing Co., Inc., 1990) 1, identifying a regiment of scouts for Mason Co., KY commanded by Col. Robert Rankin.

[9] E.g., Mason Co., KY Deed Book A: 171, deed dated 26 Nov 1789 from the trustees of Charles Town in Mason Co. (including Robert Rankins) to Henry Berry, town lots. Robert Rankins was Clerk of Court.

[10] I began inserting citations to prove that Lt. Robert and Peggy actually resided in all of those places. It quickly got out of hand. If you need evidence, you probably know how to reach me.

[11] Transcription from Rankin Bible. Pension File at p. 24. The abbreviation “Sr.” was added to the names of Thomas Berry Rankin and James Rankin. Those designations would not have been used until the next generation of the family had men by those names, suggesting the Bible transcription in the pension file was not verbatim.

[12] Polk Co., TX, Will Book A: 28, will of Peggy Rankin dated 26 Apr 1847, proved 25 Oct 1858. Peggy made bequests to her sons Frederick H. Rankin and William M. Rankin and daughters Frances Huburt and Massena McCombs. She also named grandchildren John B. Rankin, Berry Rankin, Peggy Rankin, and Rebecca Rankin, children of her deceased son James Rankin. She appointed her sons William M. and John executors.

[13] See Gregory A. Waselkov, A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2006), Appendix #1 250-51. It identifies Joseph Rankin as a “Tombigbee resident, born in Kentucky, brother of Thomas Berry Rankin.” The book lists both Rankins as having died at Ft. Mims. It has two errors about the Rankin family. First, it identifies Joseph and Thomas B.’s father as “Richard Robert Rankin.” I’ve never found a record in which Lt. Robert appears by any name other than Robert, and there are many, many records for this man. Second, the book names Lt. Robert’s wife as “Margaret Kendall Rankin.” I have found no evidence for that middle name, either. Kendall is Peggy’s mother’s maiden name. I am 99.9% certain that both “Richard” are “Kendall” are fiction.

[14] See Gifford E. White, Character Certificates in the General Land Office of Texas (Austin: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985). White’s No. 1660 (the number apparently assigned by the author) says: “San Felipe de Austin, 10 Jun 1830. To Mr. S. F. Austin, Empresario. I have emigrated to this Colony… my name is James Rankin. Age 22 years. Single. My father is dead and I have no parent in this Country to represent me. I removed from Alabama, arrived in this colony in 1827. Occupation farmer. Signed James Rankin Junior.” See also No. 1663, “To Mr. S. F. Austin, Empressario (no date). I have emigrated to this Colony. William Rankin 21 years old. Unmarried. An orphan. From Alabama and arrived in this colony in January 1830.” See also Note 18: William Rankin, age 21, arrived in Texas the same month as his uncle William Marshall Rankin, aunt Frances Rankin Huburt, and William M. Rankin’s in-laws, Zachariah and Lettice Landrum.

[15] Vehlein’s Colony included the area where Robert Rankin’s family settled, now in San Jacinto Co., TX. See the map, courtesy of the Handbook,  here.

[16] If anyone has a yen to translate Lt. Robert’s grant, here is the image   at the GLO website.

[17] The Handbook of Texas Online (see Note 2) says that Robert Rankin’s family moved to Kentucky in 1784, suggesting that William Marshall Rankin, born in 1786, was born there. However, the 1850 census for Polk Co., TX identifies William M.’s birth state as Virginia. The explanation is that William was born in what was then the Kentucky District, State of Virginia, but is now Mason Co., KY. See G. Glenn Clift, History of Maysville and Mason County, Volume 1 (Lexington, KY: Transylvania Printing Co. Inc., 1936) 56. Two days before William was born, Lt. Robert signed a petition from the town of Washington in “the Kentucky area of Virginia” in what was then Bourbon Co., District of KY, state of VA.

[18] Villamae Williams, Stephen F. Austin’s Register Of Families, From The Originals In The General Land Office, Austin, Texas (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989). Entry No. 392, M. Hubert, 34, wife Frances (Lt. Robert and Peggy’s youngest child), 32, and 2 daughters came from Alabama and arrived in Texas in Jan. 1830; No. 393, Wm. R. [sic, M.] Rankin, 43, wife Sarah, 33, two sons, and two daughters came from Alabama and arrived in Texas in Jan. 1830; No. 394, Zachariah Landrum, 64, and wife Lettuce (sic, Lettice), came from Alabama and arrived in Texas in Jan. 1830; and No. 395, William Rankin, 21, single, came from Alabama and arrived in Jan. 1830.

[19] See Note 13.

[20] Ms. Calloway provided that information to Flossie Cloyd, so it is preserved in the Cloyd materials in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. It may have been her family’s oral tradition that John K. and Christopher Rankin were brothers, although Ms. Calloway often took liberties with facts. She was a source of considerable misinformation about Lt. Robert. As to Christopher Rankin, his will was probated in Washington, D.C, see Ancestry.com “Washington, D.C., U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1737 – 1952.” The will recites that Christopher was “a native of Washington County … Pennsylvania” but was “at present a Citizen of the State of Mississippi and Representative of said state in the Congress of the United States.” Rankin Co., MS was named for Representative Rankin.

[21] Information for John Keith and Elizabeth Butler Rankin was provided to Louis Wiltz Kemp by May Myers Calloway, John Keith’s great-granddaughter. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas, Austin, papers of Louis Wiltz Kemp, Box 2R232, General Biographical Notebooks, Ranb-Reavis. Viewed Feb. 8, 2020. Cited hereafter as “Kemp papers, Box 2R232.”

[22] A pension abstract by Virgil White and a transcription by Will Graves both show James in the Bible page transcription as James Junior. The image in the Pension File (page 24) appeared to me that both James Rankin and Thomas Berry Rankin were designated as “Sr.” In any event, James, son of Lt. Robert and Peggy, appeared in all other records I found as “Sr.”

[23] See Polk Co., TX, Will Book A: 28, will of Peggy Rankin naming children of her son James Rankin, deceased.

[24] Online images of tax lists at Ancestry.com. Frederick Harrison Rankin’s family was listed in Polk Co., TX in the 1850 census. In 1860 and 1870, they were enumerated in Ellis Co., TX.

[25] Kemp papers, Box 2R232.

[26] See Note 12 and the 1850 census of Polk Co., TX, household of S. McCombs, 60, farmer, b. SC, Mathinia McCombs, 45, b. KY, Jas. McCombs, 14, Mary McCombs, 12, Elizabeth McCombs, 10, and Martha Brown, 18. All children were born in Texas. Martha Brown was Massena Rankin’s child from a prior marriage.

[27] See Note 18.

[28] There is correspondence about permission for the reinterment among the Kemp papers. I failed to make notes about it when I looked at them. The next time I’m in Austin, I will remedy that error. I will bet my right arm that the person who spearheaded the reinterment was May Myers Calloway.

[29] At the time Lt. Robert died, St. Landry Parish extended west all the way to Sabine Lake, the Louisiana – Texas state line. I don’t know where in St. Landry Parish the Rankins lived. From Sabine Lake to Coldspring is about 114 miles per Google maps.

Friendship Andrew Willis – Part II, the Last Man Standing

Researcher Ann Wilson recently received Y-DNA results for two male Willis cousins that placed her lineage within “The Maryland Group” in the Willis DNA Project. That lineage descends from “Wantage John” Willis, died 1712, who occupied 50 acres called Wantage in Dorchester County, Maryland. Ann’s paper trail, however, leads to “Friendship Andrew” Willis, died 1777, who is not currently tied to Wantage John. Those facts launched the search for Andrew’s parents among a couple of Willis families. Part I of this analysis posted earlier concluded that Andrew Willis did not descend from the family of Quaker Richard Willis.

Part I Recap

The analysis showed the following as to Friendship Andrew:

    • He may have been born between 1720 and 1730, or likely sooner.
    • His first appearance may have been 1743 when an Andrew Willis posted a bastardy bond.
    • He was a planter of Dorchester County when he bought land called Friendship in 1753.
    • Friendship was located in Caroline County after 1773.
    • Friendship Andrew died in late 1777 or early 1778.
    • His eldest son distributed per his father’s direction Friendship Andrew’s land among five heirs including four surviving sons.
    • Andrew was likely Quaker. Two of his sons were Nicholite, or New Quakers, a sect which later merged with the Quaker

And as to the Quaker Richard Willis family:

    • Quaker Richard had a daughter Frances and sons Richard II and John:
      • Richard II had a daughter Mary and a son Richard III, who had no children.
      • John had no children.
    • Quaker Richard “daughtered out” with no male descendants beyond Richard III.
    • Friendship Andrew is not descended from Quaker Richard.

Part II

This post continues the search for Friendship Andrew’s parents within Wantage John Willis’s family. This analysis will try to eliminate men who could not have fathered Friendship Andrew, concluding with “the last man standing” as his parent. Wantage John had four sons:

    • Andrew – six known sons, one named Andrew
    • William – possible sons William and Thomas
    • Thomas – no children
    • John Jr. – six known sons, none named Andrew

Neither Andrew Willis, Son or Grandson of Wantage John, is Friendship Andrew

Andrew Willis, son of Wantage John, was born in 1690.[1] His well-documented family lived in southern Dorchester County, and he died in 1738.[2] He had a son named Andrew born around 1719, about the right time to be Friendship Andrew.[3] However, that son Andrew lived until at least 1781 in southern Dorchester, not the part that became Caroline County in 1773.[4] Moreover, young Andrew was not Quaker. Three of his children were baptized at Old Trinity Church between 1768 and 1775. His children were not the known sons of Friendship Andrew.[5] Therefore, neither Andrew Willis born 1690 nor his son is Friendship Andrew.

William Willis, Son of Wantage John May Be Friendship Andrew’s Father

William inherited the family homestead under Wantage John’s 1712 will and lived there with his wife Judith (neéSeward/Soward). In 1734, they sold the property to Judith’s brother Richard.[6] Dorchester records do not show them buying or inheriting other land. However, deed records show they gave a deposition in 1748 about the boundaries of a tract in the Neck Region of Dorchester County.[7] William testified he had known the property for about 25 years near Hudson’s Creek. William and Judith must have moved there even before they sold Wantage, maybe as early as 1723. Such a move makes sense because Judith’s family owned land in that region.

Dorchester records do not show William and Judith had any children. However, two deed book entries indicate they may have had sons. In 1764, a sale of land on Hudson’s Creek locates the tract at the head of Willis’s Cove near where William Willis lives.[8] This reference could be to William husband of Judith, or it could be to a son of that couple. Second, a Thomas Willis gave a 1784 deposition about the boundaries of Bridge North, property of William Soward.[9] At the time, Thomas was about 70 years old, therefore born about 1714. He stated he had been shown one boundary marker of the tract about 30 years ago. Thomas is the right age to be a son of William and Judith.

Beyond those two instances, the records give no clue about children of William and Judith. Regardless, the couple is the right age to have had a child Andrew, a relatively common name among William’s extended family.

One factor not in their favor, besides the lack of circumstantial evidence, is geography. Friendship Andrew Willis in 1753 purchased land a considerable distance from the Neck Region of Dorchester County. That distance brings into question how a son of William would know about the land or the owner from whom he bought it. Two siblings, Thomas and John Jr., lived much closer to Andrew’s land purchase and are thus more geographically desirable.

 Thomas Willis, Son of Wantage John, Is Not the Father of Friendship Andrew

Thomas and Grace Willis are not Friendship Andrew’s parents. They are in the right place, the part of Dorchester County that became Caroline. However, there are no children in the record and circumstantial evidence indicates there were none.

No Children in the Record

In 1717, Thomas Willis purchased 50 acres of land, one half of a tract called Sharp’s Prosperity, adjacent his brother John Jr. in what would become Caroline County. Thomas died intestate in 1722, and Grace Willis administered his estate. His brothers Andrew Willis and John Willis signed the inventory of his estate as kindred. John was on the adjoining property. Andrew was not too distant, living at the time on Shoal Creek some fifteen miles away. The record does not state whether Grace Willis is Thomas’s widow or his sister, nor does it indicate if he had children. However, the inventory of Thomas’s estate lists only one bed and bedstead suggesting Grace is his widow, and they were childless.[10]

Land Records Also Suggest No Children

The ownership history of Sharp’s Prosperity also suggests the couple had no children. Various parties paid the rents on the tract after Thomas’s death.[11] The last such entry, thirty-four years after Thomas’s death, shows payment by “heirs of Thomas Willis.”[12] If Thomas and Grace had children, those children would be the heirs. If there were a single child, that child at maturity would have taken over the land and payment of rents, which did not happen. If there were multiple children, they likely would have sold the land and divided the proceeds. The record shows no such sale.

If there were no children, Thomas’s siblings and his spouse would be the heirs. In that case, Grace may have been living on the tract, and her in-laws farmed the land and helped pay the rents. The debt books show no rent payments after 1756.[13]Upon non-payment of rents the land reverted to the proprietor. We do not know why the heirs quit making payments. Possibly, Grace died. Also, her brother-in-law John Jr. acquired some additional land in 1756. Both of those events would be reason to let the land go.

Clues in the Probate Record

Thomas’s probate record reveals a couple more facts about Grace. First, she was not a Quaker. The inventory states that she took an “oath on the Holy Evangels”, that is, swore on the Bible, that her inventory filing was true and correct. Quakers did not swear on the Bible, they “affirmed” or “testified according to law” and the record usually noted that fact. The couple’s religious affiliation is significant because Friendship Andrew was probably Quaker. Two of his sons were members of the Nicholites, or “New Quakers.”

Secondly, Grace’s maiden name may have been Bexley. Her administration bond listed William Woods and William Bexley as sureties.[14] Normally, bondsmen assuring probate administration performance included one or more relatives and, if necessary, a non-relative wealthy enough to be good for the bonded amount. It surprised me to see no Willis as a surety. In 1693, a William Bexley in Talbot County made a will naming a son William. That son may be the listed bondsman.

Thomas’s estate inventory shows total assets of only £12.10.4, including a debt William Bexley owed the estate of 2 shillings, 4 pence. William Bexley’s debt suggests he may be a relative. No one else owed money to the estate. In colonial Maryland, wealthy people loaned money on a regular basis. Non-wealthy people like Thomas Willis did not, except to family. However, Thomas’s inventory of cobbler tools and leather shows he was probably a shoemaker. One explanation for the debt might be that Bexley bought a pair of boots and had not yet paid for them. We just do not know. However, we do know that there are no hints in the record that Thomas and Grace had children or that they were Quaker.

All things considered, we can be relatively certain that Thomas and Grace were not Friendship Andrew’s parents.

John Willis Jr. Could Be Friendship Andrew’s Grandfather

John Willis Jr. had six sons, none named Andrew. However, his eldest son John III is a candidate to be Friendship Andrew’s father. John Willis III was born to John Jr. and his first wife Mary about 1704.[15]  Documentary evidence does not help us here. History does not record a marriage, land purchase, children, or even the death of John III.

If John III were Anglican, the records of St. Mary’s White Chapel Parish might have that information. However, those records do not survive. If Quaker, John III likely would have attended Marshy Creek Meeting established in 1727 near his family’s home. However, I cannot find records of that meeting. Other meetings he may have attended such as Northwest Fork Meeting do not record his name.

John III died sometime after 1771, likely during the period 1776-1790 when there is a gap in the Caroline County probate records. If Friendship Andrew were born between 1724 and 1732, John III was about 21 to 29 years old at that time. That makes John III a reasonable candidate to be his father. John III is the only son of John Jr. that fits as a possibility. The other sons are either too young or their families are well documented and do not include a son Andrew.

 Conclusion – The Last Man Standing

Two of Wantage John’s four sons cannot be the forebearer of Friendship Andrew:

    • Direct evidence shows Friendship Andrew did not descend from Wantage John’s son Andrew.
    • Solid circumstantial evidence rules out son Thomas.

That leaves William and John Jr.

    • Son William is geographically undesirable but has a proved marriage and likely children. William could be Friendship Andrew’s father.
    • Son John Jr. had a son John III the right age to be Friendship Andrew’s father. John III is in the right place at the right time, but nothing else in the record argues either way as to his parentage.

Between William and John III, the latter is more likely the father of Friendship Andrew based on location, but we cannot prove it. Possibly down the road more facts will emerge. Until then we have two “last men standing,” and cannot conclusively prove either one.

 

[1] Dorchester County Deed Book 8 Old 404 – 4 Sep 1730, Deposition of Andrew Willis, aged about 40.

[2] Maryland Will Book 21:918 – 24 May 1733, Will of Andrew Willis submitted to probate 23 Aug 1738

[3] Birth year estimated.

[4] Dorchester County Deed Book 28 Old 356 – 22 Sep 1781, Andrew Willis of Dorchester County, planter, purchased  for £60 current money 49½ acres from Benedick Meekins of Dorchester County, planter, and Mary his wife, being part of a tract called Addition to Adventure and part of a tract called Adventure

[5] Palmer, Katherine H., transcribed Baptism Record, Old Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, Church Creek, MD, Cambridge, MD – Children of Andrew and Sarah Willis: Andrew 12 Feb 1768; Keziah 12 Oct 1770; George 3 Dec 1775.

[6] Dorchester County Deed Book 9 Old 214 – ­­­­15 Aug 1734, William Willis and wife Judeth of Dorchester County, planter, for £6 current money sell to Richard Seward of Dorchester County 50 acres called Wantage near the head of Blackwater River adjoining Littleworth. Signed William (M) Willis, Judeth (+) Willis

[7] Dorchester County Deed Book 14 Old 658 – 3 Sep 1748 Judah [sic Judith] (+) Willis age 50 stated she had heard of the tracts Rosses Range and David Ropies but did not know the bounders; Wm (M) Willis age 52 stated he has known the place for 25 years but not the bounders.

[8] Dorchester County Deed Book 19 Old 343 – 11 Jun 1764, John Taylor Sr. of Dorchester County, Merchant., to Nicholas Maccubbin of Annapolis, Merchant for £285.14.6, three tracts totaling 291 acres on Hodsons Creek, at the head of Willis’s Cove near where Wm. Willis lives.

[9] Dorchester County Deed Book NH 5:259 – 4 Dec 1784, Deposition of Thomas Willis, aged about 70, regarding the boundaries of Bridge North, property of William Seward/Soward.

[10] Perogative Court of Maryland Inventories, 9:9 – Inventory of the Estate of Thomas Willis, 15 Oct 1722.

[11] Skinner, V.L. Jr., Abstracts of the Debt Books of the Provincial Land Office of Maryland, Dorchester County, Volume I and II, Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, MD, 2016

[12] Ibid, Vol II, p 234, 1756, Book 20:159, Heirs of Thomas Willis, Sharp’s Prosperity, 50 acres.

[13] Ibid, Vol I and II, Rent entries, which include the years 1758, 1766, 1767, and 1770, show no property named Sharps Prosperity nor any payments on behalf of Thomas Willis.

[14] Testamentary Proceedings of the Perogative Court of Maryland, 26:77, on 28 Nov 1722 John Pitts, gentleman, of Dorchester County exhibited bond of Grace Wallis administratrix of Thomas Wallis. Sureties William Bexley, William Woods, dated 29 Sep 1722. Also filed inventory of the estate.

[15] Dorchester County Deed Book 25 Old 26, 13 Nov 1770 -2 Aug 1771, Deposition of John Willis the Elder of Dorchester Co, aged about 67 years, mentions his father John Willis and a bounder of land called Painters Range on Hunting Creek Mill Pond.

Friendship Andrew Willis – Mystery Man, Part I

Researcher Ann Wilson recently received Y-DNA results for two male Willis cousins that placed her lineage within “The Maryland Group” in the Willis DNA Project. That lineage descends from John Willis, died 1712, who occupied 50 acres called Wantage in Dorchester County, Maryland. We refer to him as Wantage John. Ann’s paper trail, however, leads to Andrew Willis, died 1777, who is not currently tied to Wantage John. This article explores how John and Andrew might be related.

What We Know About Andrew

In 1753, Andrew Willis “of Dorchester County, Planter,” bought a 28-acre tract for £6.10.00 in Dorchester called Friendship, so let’s call him Friendship Andrew.[1] He was therefore a resident of the county at the time of the purchase. He was not a yeoman farmer who tilled the land. A “Planter” had others, sometimes enslaved people, doing the hard work. Frustratingly, Dorchester records do not show Friendship Andrew before 1753, so there is no indication how he qualified as a “Planter.”Friendship Andrew’s first appearance in the record may have been ten years earlier. In 1743, an Andrew Willis posted a bastardy bond in St. Mary’s White Chapel Parish.[2] That parish covered the region of Dorchester County that included the tract called Friendship.  After his initial 28-acre purchase, Andrew had his land resurveyed twice to confirm boundaries and add vacant land, resulting in a tract that by 1764 totaled 304 acres called Friendship Regulated.[3]

Friendship Andrew had five sons. He orally directed that should he die without a will, his son Thomas was to divide Friendship Regulated among the five, with 100 acres each to Thomas and Andrew, 70 acres to Ezekiel, and the home plantation to his youngest son Elijah except for a parcel to Joseph.[4] Friendship Andrew died intestate in 1777 or 1778. In Aug 1778, Thomas essentially followed his father’s request and deeded parts of Friendship Regulated to Andrew, Ezekiel, Joseph, and to Isaac Collins.[5] Thomas did not deed any land to Elijah, who must have died before 1778. Likely, Isaac Collins married Elijah’s unnamed daughter, who would be entitled to a share of the land under the Maryland law of intestacy.

Between 1783 and 1786, Joseph, Andrew Jr., and Ezekiel sold all or part of their inherited land.[6] Each was most likely at least 21 years old at that time. Therefore, all were born by 1765. If their father was 25 – 35 years old at that date, he would have been born between 1730 and 1740. Since Friendship Andrew was a “Planter” by 1753, his birth date was probably sooner, maybe in the range of 1720-1730.

What we do not know are Friendship Andrew’s parents. Two groups from which he might directly descend are the family of Wantage John Willis and the Quaker family of Richard and Frances Willis. This article will examine Quaker Richard’s family. I will address Wantage John in a later post.

Quaker Richard married Frances, widow of Richard Dawson, about 1683.[7] Quaker Richard died in 1690 leaving a will that proved their sons Richard Jr. and John and a daughter Frances.[8] Based on the following analysis, it is highly unlikely that Friendship Andrew descended from either son of Quaker Richard.

 Friendship Andrew Is Not Descended from Richard Willis Jr.

Richard Willis Jr. was born 13 Oct 1684.[9] He is the right age to be Friendship Andrew’s father. However, Richard Jr.’s mother Frances wrote a will in 1723/4 and a codicil in 1729 in which she named three children, two sons-in-law, and eight grandchildren. She did not name an Andrew as a son of Richard Jr. Instead, she identified Richard (III) and Mary as Richard Jr.’s children.[10] Frances divided her real property between her son Richard Jr. and his son Richard III.[11] In 1741, Richard Jr. made a will that, like his mother Frances, did not name a son Andrew.  Richard Jr. left all his property to his wife and at her death to a grandchild, with a nephew as a conditional devisee.[12] Surely, if Andrew were a son of Richard Jr., that child would have been named in either his father’s or grandmother’s will, if not both. We can reasonably conclude that Friendship Andrew was not a son of Richard Jr.

Furthermore, Andrew was not a son of Richard Jr.’s son Richard III. In his 1737 will, Richard III gave everything to his sister Mary, except some bequests to two cousins.[13]  Clearly, he had no widow and no children. Thus, neither Richard Jr. nor Richard III, son and grandson of Quaker Richard, was Friendship Andrew’s father.

John Willis Is Not Friendship Andrew’s Father

Quaker Richard’s son John was born 7 Sep1686 and married Margaret Cox 10 Jul 1712.[14] He died intestate in 1723 almost certainly without surviving children. First, there is no mention of children in the record. Second, there was no division of his estate as required by the laws of intestate distribution if children are involved.

No Mention of Children in the Record

If John and Margaret had any children, the eldest would have been about ten when John died. The accounts filed by his widow, however, do not mention any children, who are often identified in such filings.[15] Further, there are no guardianship records as required for minor children … no guardian bond, no guardian accounts, no distribution of the estate to indicate an heir other than Margaret.

Division of Estate

If John and Margaret had children, John’s estate would have been allocated by law one-third to the widow and two-thirds to the children.[16] Margaret died just three years after John, and her personal property was almost identical to her husband’s. John’s estate inventory totaled £103.14.04.[17] Hers amounted to £102.17.11, rather than a third that amount.[18] Having no portion carved out for any children indicates there were none.

If John had no children, the widow would get one-half the personal estate according to law and the other half would go to the deceased’s siblings Richard Jr. and Frances.[19] In that case, one would expect Margaret to have controlled only about £50. However, with no minor children involved, the adult heirs could easily have forgone receiving anything immediately from their sister-in-law. Taking their share would have only made her life more difficult. It makes sense that they would put off a distribution until a later date. In this case, the delay was only three years until Margaret died.

Land – The Final Evidence

The final argument against Friendship Andrew descending from Quaker Richard’s sons is that Andrew received no land from them. Families almost always passed down land from father to son. Maryland Provincial Land Office records show the subsequent owners of the lands of Quaker Richard and Frances Willis and their sons. Friendship Andrew Willis inherited none of that land.[20] Were he in the line of succession, he most likely would have ended up owning some of their land.

Conclusion

It is safe to conclude that the mystery man, Friendship Andrew Willis, is not descended from the line of Quaker Richard and Frances Willis. Neither Richard Jr., his son Richard III, nor John Willis is Andrew’s father. The next article will look at the sons of Wantage John for a possible father.

 

[1] 15 Sep 1753, Dorchester County Deed Book 14 Old 738 – Thomas Hackett of Dorchester County, Planter, and wife Sarah for 6 pounds, 10 shillings, paid by Andrew Willis of the same place, Planter, sell part of a tract of land called Friendship adjoining Grantham and containing 28 acres.

[2] Wright, F. Edward, Judgement Records of Dorchester, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties, Delmarva Roots: Lewes, Delaware, 2001, p 34 – Aug 1743, Dorchester County Court Judgment Records, p 231 – Presented that Sarah Willis of St. Mary’s White Chappel Parish, spinster, on 10 May 1743 committed fornication and begat a bastard child. Fined 30 shillings. Andrew Willis her surety to indemnify the inhabitants of the county for 7 years from keeping and maintaining a bastard child.

[3] 6 Apr 1754 survey, 23 Sep 1760 patent, Dorchester County, 113 acres, Patented Certificate 1174, MSA S1196-1317, the survey found Friendshipencroached on an elder 1,000-acre tract patented in 1684 called Grantham located in “woods near Catarine Creek.” The resurvey eliminated the encroachment, realigned his tract adjoining Grantham, and added vacancies for a new total of 113 acres then called Friendship Regulated. And 23 Mar 1764, Dorchester County, 304 acres, Patented Certificate 1175, MSA 21196-1316 added vacant lands for a total of 304 acres called Friendship Regulated.

Note: The reference to Catarin Creek is an error. The land was located about five miles north of Federalsburg, estimated by the location of “Davis’s old field,” “lands of Abraham Collins,” “Collins Crossroads,” and Raccoon Branch referenced in other tracts adjoining Grantham and Friendship Regulated.

[4] Caroline County Deed Book D:381, 27 Aug 1793 – 10 Dec 1793, Deposition of John Walker, carpenter, age 52, said he was at the house of Andrew Willis, father of the late Thos. Willis dec’d, of whom Sina Willis is widow, and heard Andrew say he intended 100 acres of his land for Thomas, 100 acres for son Andrew, 7 [sic 70] acres for son Ezekiel, and the home plantation for his youngest son Elijah excepting a parcel to be laid off for the said Andrew’s son Joseph; and that in the event of his death without a will, that Thomas would so convey; to which Thomas agreed and so did. The deposition was requested by Abraham Collins who bought part of Friendship Regulated from Ezekiel in 1786.

[5] Caroline County Deed Book GF A:285-287, 21 Aug 1778. Rather than the instructions conveyed in the above 1793 deposition, Thomas conveyed 87 ½ acres to Andrew, 50 acres to Ezekiel, 32 ½ acres to Joseph, and 29 ¾ acres to Isaac Collins. This left Thomas holding 104 ¼ acres for a total of 304 acres contained in Friendship Regulated.

[6] Caroline County Deed Books, A:650, 659 – Joseph, 1783; A:773 – Andrew, 1784; B:116 – Ezekiel, 1786.

[7] Marriage date estimated based on the 13 Aug 1684 date of the birth of Richard Willis Jr.

[8] Dorchester County Deed Book 4 ½ Old 1 – Will of Richard Willis dated 21 Oct 1689, probate 2 Jan 1690. 300 acres called Rondley to go to his sons.

[9] Quaker Birth Records, Third Haven Monthly Meeting, 1665-1930, p 21, Richard Willis 8th Mo 13th 1684. Note: 1st month for Quakers is March.

[10] Maryland Will Book 19:679 – Will of Frances Fisher dated 28 Feb 1723/4, codicil 14 Apr 1729, probate 7 May 1729. Note: the widow Frances Willis married Edward Fisher who predeceased her.

[11] Ibid, ­­­679 and 680

[12] Maryland Will Book 22:439 – Will of Richard Willis dated 6 Nov 1741, probate 20 Jan 1742 – To wife Mary the dwelling plantation which at her death to pass to granddaughter Elizabeth Jolley and heirs. Should Elizabeth Jolley die without heirs the plantation would go to Willis Newton son of Edward Newton [and Richard’s sister Frances Willis Newton]. Personal property bequeathed to wife Mary and to Elizabeth Jolly at age 16. Wife Mary executrix. Wit: Thomas Smith, James Billings, Robert Jenkins Henry. [Note: at the time of his will, Richard Jr.’s son Richard was already dead. Richard Jr.’s daughter Mary’s husband Francis Jolly had died (with his estate underwater), and she had married Hugh Rimmer. Richard, Sr. was guardian of grandchild Elizabeth Jolly. At Richard’s death, Major James Billings became guardian. Elizabeth Jolley died without heirs, and the land went to Willis Newton and eventually his son Thomas Newton.]

[13] Maryland Will Book 21:814 – Will of Richard Willis, wheelwright, of Dorchester County dated 11 May 1737, probate 19 Nov 1737 – To sister Mary, executrix, entire estate except legacies of personal property to cousins John Newton and Margaret Newton children of Edward Newton [and Frances Willis Newton]. Wit: Richard Webster, Sr, Sarah Whaland, Anna Webster.

[14] Quaker Records, Third Haven Monthly Meeting, 1665-1930, p 21, John Willis 7th Mo 7th 1686, and Marriage Book 1668-1938, p 100, 10 Jul 1712 at their Meeting House in Dorchester County. Note: The record is in the books of Third Haven Monthly Meeting in Talbot County.

[15] Perogative Court Accounts 5:280, 19 Sep 1723 – Account for estate of John Williss of Dorchester Co, total account £103.14.4, payments made £25.15.8, dated 19 Sep 1723. Payments to William Ennals, John Orell, Dr. William Murray, William Hemsley, John Hodson Jr., Capt John Rider. Administratrix Margaret Williss.

[16] “An Act for the better Administration of Justice in Testamentary Affairs granting Adminisrcons recovery of Legacies Secureing filiall portions and distribution of Intestates Estates” (1715)  (Ref: Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland, Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland, April 26, 1715 – August 10, 1716, Acts of the Assembly, April 26-June 3, 1715, Archives of Maryland, Volume 30, William Hand Brown, Maryland Historical Society, 1910, pp. 331-347) – “… one third part of the said Surplusage to the wife of the Intestate and all the residue by Equall portions to and amoungst the Children of such persons dying Intestate and such persons as Legally represent such Children …”

[17] Perogative Court Inventories 8:191, 9 May 1723 – ­­­­Inventory of the estate of John Willis, £103.14.04 appraised by Thomas Hides, Charles Dean; creditors Jno Rider, W Ennalls; kindred Richard Willis, Daniel Cox: filed 16 July 1723 by Margaret Willis administratrix, who “gave testimony according to law” that the inventory was true and correct.

[18] Perogative Court Inventories 11:399, 4 Jul 1726 – Inventory of the estate of Margaret Willis, £102.17.11 appraised by W Ennalls, Edward Newton; creditors W Ennalls, John Rider; kindred Dan’l Cox, Betty Cannon; filed 5 Jul 1726 by Richard Willis administrator.

[19] Testamentary Affairs Act, “And in Case there be no Child or Children nor any Legall representatives of them then one Moyety of the said Estate to be allowed to the wife of the Intestate the residue of the said Estate to be Distributed Equally to Every of the next of kindred of the Intestate who are in Equall Degree and those who Legally represent them(Provided there be no representatives admitted among Collatteralls after brothers and Sisters Children) …”

[20] Skinner, V.L. Jr., Abstracts of the Debt Books of the Provincial Land Office of Maryland, Dorchester County, Vol I, Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, 2016 – p 152, Richard III tracts owned by Phil. Covington, p 193, Richard Jr.’s tracts owned by John Leatherbury “for his wife.”

[21] Dorchester County Deed Book 7 Old 63 – 26 Jul 1718, Frances sold all her real estate to sons Richard and John Willis for 2,000 pounds of tobacco. The deed provided that when ready to make a division, John would have first choice as to the part he would take. The deed also required them to sell Rondley to John Dawson, possibly Frances’s son from her first marriage.

[22] John received 2,000 pounds of tobacco “on account of the land” and another 2,000 pounds as compensation for not receiving an enslaved person (Frances willed five enslaved people to various legatees).

[23] Jenkins, Dan, Baja Oklahoma, Antheneum, division of Simon & Schuster: New York, 1981