Sir James Rankin, 1st Baronet JP DL (25 December 1842 – 17 April 1915) was a Conservative Party politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life

Leominster Museum - 2014-07-11 - Andy Mabbett - 34

Rankin was born on 25 December 1842 at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England. He was the eldest son of

Robert Rankin Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of fantasy comedy, comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with ''Snuff Fictio ...

(1801–1870), a timber merchant and shipowner, and his wife Ann (née Strang) Ranking (1812–1875). His sister, Ann Rankin, was the first wife of

David MacIver David MacIver (24 August 1840 – 1 September 1907) was an English steam ship owner and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1874 and 1907. Early life MacIver was born 24 August 1840 in Liverpool, t ...

, MP. His paternal grandparents were James Rankin and Helen ( Ferguson) Rankin. His uncle,

Alexander Rankin Alexander Rankin (December 31, 1788 – April 3, 1852) was a Scottish-born merchant and political figure in New Brunswick. He represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1827 to 1852. Early life He w ...

, was a Scottish timber merchant and shipowner. His maternal grandfather was John Strang, a prominent Scottish merchant of

St. Andrews, New Brunswick Saint Andrews is a town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada. The historic town is a national historic site of Canada, bearing many characteristics of a typical 18th century British colonial settlement, including the original grid layo ...

. Through his aunt Agnes Strang (wife of Allan Gilmour), he was a first cousin of

Sir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet Colonel Sir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet, (1845–1920) was chairman of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, and was created a baronet in 1897. Life He was the son of Allan Gilmour, owner of a large shipping company based in Renfrew, and A ...

. He earned a first-class degree in the Natural Science Tripos at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Career

He was Member of Parliament for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

from 1880 to 1885, and from 1886 until the general election of 1906, losing the seat by only 28 votes to the Liberal candidate. He regained the seat in January 1910 and

resigned Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

in March 1912. He served as a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Herefordshire. He was made a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 20 June 1898, of Bryngwyn (Bryngwyn Manor, near

Wormelow Tump Wormelow Tump is a village in Herefordshire, England, south of Hereford and north-west of Ross-on-Wye. Most of the village lies in the parish of Much Birch, but it extends west across the parish boundary – which here follows the A466 – i ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. He was a senior partner of the family timber and shipbuilding company,

Pollok, Gilmour and Company Pollok, Gilmour, and Company was a Glasgow-based timber-importing firm established in 1804 by Allan Gilmour, Sr and the brothers John Pollok and Arthur Pollok. The company soon became the leading British firm in the North American timber trade. ...

, founded by his great-uncles, John Pollok and Arthur Pollok."Sir James Rankin", ''The Times'', (London), Monday, 19 Apr 1915, page 4, Issue 40832 The Rankin Constitutional Club, in Corn Square, Leominster, is named after him.

Personal life

On 12 January 1865, he married Annie Laura Bushell (–1920), the daughter Christopher Bushell JP (1810–1886) and Margaret (née Easton) Bushell of

Hinderton Hall Hinderton Hall is a English country house, country house to the northeast of Neston, Cheshire, England. History The house was built in 1856 for Christopher Bushell, a Liverpool wine merchant. The architect, who designed and oversaw the work on ...

, Cheshire.John Rankin, ''op cit''.
page 82
/ref> Together, they had four sons and four daughters, including: * Annie Beatrice Rankin (1866–1943), who married Claude Arthur Cuthbert, son of William Cuthbert, in 1887. * Margaret Ethel Rankin (d. 1949), who married Capt. Thomas Raymond Symons in 1888. * Sir James ''Reginald'' Lea Rankin, 2nd Baronet (1871–1931), a Lt Col who married Hon. Nest Rice, daughter of

Arthur Rice, 6th Baron Dynevor Arthur de Cardonnel FitzUryan Rice, 6th Baron Dynevor (24 January 1836 – 8 June 1911), was a British peerage, peer. Life He was the son of Francis William Rice, 5th Baron Dynevor, and Harriett Ives Barker. His elder sister, Ellen Joyce, w ...

, in 1896. * Mary Sybil Rankin (1875–1956), who married Maj. Charles Francis Kynaston Mainwaring, son of Salusbury Kynaston Mainwaring, in 1903. * Charles Herbert Rankin (1873–1946), a Brig.-Gen. who married Enid Maud Williams, daughter of Judge Gwylim Williams, in 1908. * Edwyn Christopher Rankin (1879–1925), who married Helena Mabel Galloway, daughter of Charles John Galloway, in 1914. * Veronica Rankin (1881–1960), who married John Ellison Otto in 1909. * Robert Rankin (1883–1945), a barrister who was a Captain in the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish geneal ...

, 2003, volume 3, page 3275. Sir James died on 17 April 1915 and was succeeded by his eldest son,

Reginald Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language meaning "king". Etymology and history The name Reginald comes from Latin meaning "king" and "ruler" symbolizing authority and leadership. It comes from combining Latin “ rex” meaning ...

References

External links

England and Wales Census, 1881 for James Rankin
at familysearch.org * * *
Sir James Rankin (1842–1915), Bt
portrait painted in 1907 by Herman Herkomer * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, James 1842 births 1915 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Masters of foxhounds in England Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links