Background
He was born at Breachacha Castle on the Isle of College, the son of Neil Rankin, the resident piper at the castle, and Catherine Maclean.
He was born at Breachacha Castle on the Isle of College, the son of Neil Rankin, the resident piper at the castle, and Catherine Maclean.
He represented Queens County in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1806 to 1812. He was trained as a piper but instead joined the army. He was sent to Prince Edward Island in 1806, where he recruited additional mentor
In 1811, the Fencibles became the 104th Foot and later that year Rankin was made lieutenant.
He also served as a justice of the peace. In 1820, he returned to Prince Edward Island with a group of immigrants.
He was named high sheriff for the island and so was responsible for collecting quitrents for Lieutenant Governor Charles Douglass Smith. In 1829, he was named major for the island"s militia.
He ran unsuccessfully against William Douse, a land agent, for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1834.
Rankin helped organize the tenants against the landowners. This eventually led to him being evicted from the farm that he had been renting and he moved to Charlottetown. He died there in 1852.