William Rankin Sr (1720 - 1793)

Born 1720 in Ulster, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Abigail Tassia — married 1742 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 21 Oct 1793 at about age 73 in Mount Pleasant Township, Washington, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

WILLIAM RANKIN, SR. was born 1720 in Ulster, Ireland, and died October 1793 in Mt. Pleasant Township, Washington County, PA.^[1]

He married ABIGAIL TASSIA 1748 in Winchester County, Virginia. She was born 1722 in Frederick County, Virginia, and died December 1793 in High Spring, Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Children

1. DAVID RANKIN, b. 1749, Frederick County, Virginia.
2. William Rankin, Jr., b. Bet. 1748 - 1750, Frederick County, Virginia; d. Bef. February 22, 1830, Berkeley County, Virginia.
3. ZACHARIAH RANKIN, b. 1752, Frederick County, Virginia; d. October 1785, Smith Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
4. JOHN RANKIN, b. Bet. 1754 - 1755, Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia; d. April 1788, Smith Township, Washington Co., Pa..^[2]
5. JAMES RANKIN, b. Bet. 1756 - 1757, Frederick County, Virginia; d. 1790.
6. MARY RANKIN, b. 1758, Frederick County, Virginia; d. Aft. 1822.
7. MATTHEW RANKIN, b. Abt. 1760, Frederick County, Virginia; d. Abt. April 1822, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
8. THOMAS RANKIN, b. September 12, 1760, Frederick County, Virginia; d. May 12, 1832, Cadiz, Harrison County, Ohio.
9. JESSE RANKIN, b. July 04, 1763, Frederick County, Virginia; d. September 21, 1837, Pennsylvania.
10. ABIGAIL RANKIN, b. Abt. 1766, Frederick County, Virginia; d. September 19, 1804, Mt. Pleasant Township, Washington County, PA.
11. MAJOR SAMUEL RANKIN, b. July 19, 1769, Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia; d. July 10, 1820, Washington County, PA.

Military Career

• William Rankin, in August, 1755, was a member of Capt. Samuel Patton's Company, 6th Battalion of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. *In 1776, he was in service as a member of Capt. John Rhea's Company, 8th Battalion, Cumberland county. *In 1780 he was a member of Capt. William Huston's company of the 4th Battalion, Cumberland county, and in the same year a member of Capt. William Smith's company *of which Jeramiah Rankin was a lieutenant) 4th Battalion, Cumberland county, under Col. Samuel Culbertson.^[3]
• In 1781he was a member of Capt. William Wuston's Company, Lieutenant Smith, Ensign Jeremiah Rankin, 4th Battalion, Cumberland county, Colonel Culbertson.^[4]
• In 1782, was a member of Capt. James Fee's company, 8th battalion, Cumberland county.^[5]

Family History Facts"""

History books tell us that the family moved from Winchester, Virginia to Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1774, where William Rankin bought up 1,800 acres of prime land. One has to wonder how an immigrant with such a large family can afford so much land. We find in the book, Emigrants to Pennsylvania 1641-1819; A Consolidation of Passenger Lists from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, edited by Michael Tepper, list more than fifty immigrants from Ireland that William paid to have transported to America as indentured servants, then selling their indentures to merchants and landowners in Pennsylvania to collect the land warrant rewards for bringing over indentured servants in 1746.^[6]

"RANKIN FAMILY. The first ancestor of the Rankin family who settled in Washington county was William Rankin, great-grandfather of our subjects, and a native of Winchester, Va., who, about 1774, made the hazardous journey across the mountains to Washington county with his wife and family landing October 31, 1774. He located in Mt. Pleasant township, this county, securing 1,800 acres of choice land, then a vast wilderness, which is now transformed into some of the finest farms of Washington county. Here he built a log cabin, and made such improvements as were possible, being in constant danger from the treacherous savages. But bravely and patiently he struggled on, establishing the pioneer home. After his sons had grown to manhood one of them, James, joined a party who went to establish a colony in Kentucky. They arrived safely, but during the return trip were attacked by Indians, and James was killed, his fate being but one addition to that of the many pioneers who were practically martyrs to colonization. Mr. and Mrs. William Rankin passed the remainder of their lives in the frontier home, both dying the same year."^[7]

Death

OCT 1793 Mt. Pleasant Twp., Washington Co. PA^[1]

Research Notes

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 30 November 2021), memorial page for William Rankin (1720–21 Oct 1793), Find A Grave: Memorial #209469594, ; Maintained by Bill Hahn (contributor 47265360) Burial Details Unknown.
2. ↑ Find a Grave. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.
3. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/382067:2204
4. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/382067:2204
5. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/382067:2204
6. ↑ Emigrants to Pennsylvania 1641-1819; A Consolidation of Passenger Lists from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Edited by Michael Tepper. Baltimore. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1979
7. ↑ Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). p. 620.