| The Many Routes To Finding Our Roots |
| by Rose & Evelyn Finney |
| The Path That Led To Cecil County And The Rankin Family |
| Handed down from Finney family sources long gone was the information that around 1820 John T. Finney of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, had married Hannah Baker of Wilmington, Delaware. Hannah's mother was the former Hannah Wallace, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Wallace; Thomas was a landowner and a patriot in Wilmington during the Revolutionary War. Hannah's father was Captain Thomas Baker, originally from Massachusetts, captain of the brig Welcome which sailed from Christiana in 1814 and was never heard of again. (Scharfs History of Delaware). John Finney's daughter-in-law, Rebecca Ireland Finney (1843-1935), told the family that John's father, Jacob, was lost at sea. (Could he have been with Captain Thomas Baker on the Welcome when it disappeared?) |
| As we began to search our family's past, we were primarily interested in the Finney family, but we began to search for possible clues in the Baker family as well. No clues - but much information was gleaned about the Baker sisters, one of whom, Caroline, married John A. Rankin of Wilmington, Delaware, in 1827. |
| Through the discovery of a will written by Hannah Wallace Baker October 2, 1847, and probated in New Castle County August 13, 1852, we learned that her daughter, Caroline, was living in Elkton, Maryland, with her husband John A. Rankin. |
| Hoping to locate the whereabouts of Caroline's sister, Hannah Baker Finney, lost to us between 1835 and 1860, we eagerly scoured the 1852 Delaware newspapers for an obituary. It, however, merely stated that she was the "relic of Capt. Thomas Baker, dec'd, in the 78th years of her life." However, the dateline was Elkton, Maryland. Next step - Elkton. |
| Still grasping at straws, we hurried to Elkton and our first encounter with the Cecil County Historical Society. We found no clues to our Baker/Finney background, but, fascinated by some of the information we found on the Rankin Family, we came to Elkton often and accumulated information that makes a very interesting picture of the life of the Rankins. |
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| Some Highlights Of Our Findings |
| John S. Rankin and his wife, Caroline (nee Baker), moved from Wilmington, Delaware, to Elkton in 1827 and lived at Cathedral and Bow Streets. John was a silversmith and watchmaker by trade. |
| Just prior to coming to Elkton (1826) John and Caroline became the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy, William Henry Rankin. However, William Henry (their only child) drowned in the Elk River on July 27, 1842 and is buried at the Elkton Presbyterian Church Cemetery. |
| The 1850 Cecil County Census recorded that living with John Rankin and his wife Caroline were her mother (Hannah Baker), John's 7 year-old nephew, William Howell, and 8 year-old niece, Anna Howell, both born in Pennsylvania. (We have a Finney ancestor Anna Howell Finney and had often wondered where the Howell came from.) |
| On June 15, 1850, according to his lengthy obituary (Cecil Whig, Aug. 21, 1897), John left with friends to go to California to search for gold. He returned in June 1851, having had no success in that venture. |
| John and Caroline moved to East Main Street in the early 1850s and maintained his clock business in the front section of their house. In 1890 his nephew William Howell purchased the property and John lived there rent-free until his death in 1897. |
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| John was an ardent Whig and served as magistrate by appointment of one of the later Whig governors, whence the title "Squire" by which he was generally known. John also served as an early town Commissioner (no dates available as yet) and also several terms as Justice of the Peace. An article in the June 13, 1850, Cecil Whig stated that John Rankin had been elected judge of Cecil County (this appeared two days before he left for California). |
| Both the Cecil Whig and the Cecil Democrat ran lengthy obituaries when Caroline died in 1891 and John in 1897. Apparently they were highly respected and very compassionate workers in the community of Elkton. |
| At this pont, we sort of "ran dry" in Cecil County - or so we thought! Then we discovered a wealth of information on the Simpers/Boulden Families - the Neal Family - the Grant family - and the Dennis Family. All families we were trying to research in Delaware and Pennsylvania! |
| There is much information at the Cecil County Historical Society which we have yet to explore, and since the people we have met there, both those manning the research facilities and other researchers, are such friendly, helpful people, we have continued to search there - in fact, almost every Tuesday evening WE'RE HERE! Sometimes just to browse through old newspapers. |
| One night last November Rose, while kibitzing with Mike Dixon, mentioned that we sure would like to know where the Rankin business was located. The name Rankin rang a bell in Mike's fabulous memory and from some unknown file he produced a letter for Rose to read. It seems a gentleman had written the Society about a portrait he had purchased at an auction. The brass plate attached to the portrait identified the subject as John A. Rankin, clock and watch maker, Elkton, Maryland. Rose copied his phone number and a day or so later contacted the gentleman. |
| Although the Rankins are not our direct line, Rose wanted desperately to own that portrait. Imagine her disappointment when she learned he had paid around $1,000 for the portrait. It is of museum quality and he is not interested in selling it unless he knows it will be displayed and taken care of by the people of Elkton. He feels strongly that this is where the portrait belongs. It now is displayed above the fireplace in one of his homes and he has invited us to make an appointment to view it. |
| We have wandered far from our original Finney/Baker research, but what an exciting time we have had reconstructing the life of the Rankin Family. And what a joy it has been to research at both the Cecil County Historical Society and the Cecil County Public Library. |
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| What Path Do We Follow From Here? Caroline Rankin willed her husband's portrait to his niece, Anna Howell Hanson, who lived in Philadelphia. What circumstances led to the auction of this obviously highly-prized and beautifully maintained portrait? Should Rose and I try to trace the travels of this portrait from John's death in 1897 to the present-day auction? Will the circuitous route of tracing the Rankin-Howell relationship to the Philadelphia area eventually produce information on the elusive Hannah Baker Finney, who lived for a number of years in the Philadelphia area? We certainly hope so! |
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