George Reid Rankin
George Reid Rankin
(1880-1932) and
Fauna Mae Beauchamp (1888-1970s)
Calhoun, Georgia to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas
Copyright July 2010 by Linda
Sparks Starr
George Reid Rankin in 1886
George Reid Rankin, born 24 February 1880
in Calhoun, Georgia, was the
second son of W. R. and Margaret
(Ramsay) Rankin. George Reid was perhaps named for his
maternal
great-great-grandfather, George Reid; but more likely
“George” is for his paternal great-grandfather, George
Rankin, and “Reid” from his maternal grandmother’s
surname. The 1880 census taker entered “Rankin” as
the given name for the three-month- old son in the household. Although
likely an error by the enumerator, this could possibly suggest the baby
was yet unnamed. After all, Pauline (Rankin) and Harry Starr took
far longer to settle on “Jack” as the name of their
youngest son.
Pauline and George Rankin are among the honor
students named at the end of the 1889 term by one of the Calhoun
schools. [Reeve p. 57] In 1894 George, and his younger sister
Mamie, accompanied their mother to South Carolina visiting
relatives.
Four years later the eighteen-year-old was listed among the volunteer
firemen for Calhoun. A 500-foot hose and hand reel was given to
the Vigilant Fire Company No. 1. by the city of Calhoun. However, the
men probably supplied their own brass instruments for the marching band
that was seen in local parades. [Ibid p. 125; Bell p. 279] It is
not known what instrument George played or, for that matter, if he was
a member of the band. Presumably this photo of friends George
Rankin, Harry Starr and Richard Hinds was taken summer 1900. Helen
(Starr) Wade provided the year; “summer” is a guess based
on Harry’s known movements.
George married Hallie Ford 9 January 1900.
[Woodworth p. 717] Little is known of her, or their daughter Mary Ogla,
who was born 7 September 1902 and died 31 Augusta 1905.
Both photos are identified as Ogla, the first as 3 months.
Perhaps the second was taken just before George and Hallie left for the
west?
George and Hallie's daughter Olga, who
died a week short of her third birthday.
Even though George and Hallie married and lived for a time in Georgia,
Hallie and Olga probably died in the part of Indian Territory now known
as southeastern Oklahoma. According to Starr family tradition, George
“came out west first and encouraged Harry and Pauline to
follow.” Olga’s death date was known by
the Georgia relatives contacted by Woodworth; but they didn’t
have Hallie’s specific death date, nor the specific marriage date
for George and his second wife, Fauna Mae Beauchamp. Descendants
report his second marriage occurred in Antlers, Oklahoma 24
November 1908.
Fauna & George c1928
Although George’s specific occupation isn’t known to this
writer, he possibly worked in the timber industry, as did Harry Starr.
It’s a logical guess for timber was the largest industry in the
region. As we chart the differing places of birth for their
children, we can guess George was following his work. The first three
children were born near Kosoma, Oklahoma.
Left: Velma Rankin in early 1910.
Right: Velma in a dress sent by Grandmother Rankin.
Left: Fauna and her son George Reid
Rankin Jr., 1912. Right: Velma and her brother Reid in 1912.
Robert Rankin in 1914
According to Clinton Roberts quoting his Uncle Reid Rankin:
“Kosoma is no longer a town ... the last time I was through
three, the town was gone except for a store on the highway. It is
about 15 to 30 miles out of Antlers, between Antlers and
Smithville.” From there, the family moved to Paris, Texas
where Margaret was born in 1916.
Margie Rankin c1917
Several members of Fauna’s family lived in Paris later on.
Perhaps one was living there during this time and lined up work for
George. By late 1917 they were back in Oklahoma and living near
Smithville where the Starrs had settled. The last two children were
born here. For the Starr children, this was the only time
relatives lived near enough to visit back and forth. Indeed,
these cousins were the only cousins they knew as children.
L-R, standing: Gladys Starr, Velma
Rankin (behind her), Helen Starr, Margaret
Rankin and neighbor Gwin
Asher. Seated: Robert Rankin, Jack Starr, Reid Rankin
Jack, Robert and Reid, about 1917
Left: Velma Rankin and Gwin Asher,
about 1917. Center:: Reid and Robert Rankin, 1919.
Right: Reid and Robert, 1922.
Sometime after June 1922 George and Fauna moved to Ashdown,
Arkansas. Their eldest child, Velma, graduated from Ashdown High
School in 1928.
George died in the Paris, Texas home of his
brother-in-law at 4:35 o’clock Friday morning 28 April 1932,
according to his obituary However his residence is listed as
Arkansas and the
officiating minister was from Texarkana. George is buried in the
Evergreen Cemetery, Paris, Texas.
Fauna (Beauchamp) Rankin
lived into the 1970s. In her later years, she discovered a
talent for painting.
Painted by Fauna Rankin;
December, 1967
At Smithville, OK, August, 1954: Harry
Starr, Reid and Ruby Rankin,
Inman Rankin, Pauline (Rankin) Starr and Fauna (Beauchamp)
Rankin
Written on reverse:: "A
good
Scare Crow for your
Victory garden. Mrs.G.R. Rankin of Dallas,
TX."
George and Fauna had six children, and most of those children
kept in touch with their Starr cousins over the years. Photos of
these individuals and their families are included herein, but to
protect the privacy of the living, the very specific information about
the next generation is not given. Family information has been
obtained
from Margaret (Rankin) Nelson, Ann Jones, and others.
Fauna and children, Nov. 1972:
L to R standing: Mryle Beaupre, Velma Roberts,
Reid Rankin, Robert Rankin. Seated: Margie Nelson, Fauna and Iman
Rankin.
1. Velma Mae (Rankin),
born 24 November 1909 near Kosoma,
Oklahoma, died 17 October 1998 in Keene, Texas. She married 15 February
1935 Harvey Clinton Roberts (1915-2009) [SS Index] in
Beaumont, Texas.
Velma andHarvey Roberts, 1979
2. George Reid Rankin Jr., born
23 November 1911 near
Kosoma, Oklahoma, died 5 December 2003 in Keene, Texas. [SS
Index] He married 26 May 1938 Rubye Delle Freeman. He
went by “Reid.”
Left: Rubye and Reid in the
1930s. Right: Reid and Rubye in 1965.
Left: Jack Starr, Reid Rankin
and Harry Starr Jr.; 1977, Mounds, OK. Right: Rubye
and Reid, at their 50th anniversary in 1988.
3. Jesse
Robertson Rankin, born 9 June 1914 near Kosoma,
Oklahoma, died 14 April 2005 in New Mexico. [SS Index] He married
8 September 1940 Margaret Leora “Leora” Montgomery in
Dallas, Texas. He went by the name “Robert.”
Robert's obiturary in the Albuquerque Journal reads:
RANKIN: Jesse Robertson Rankin, age 90,
passed away Thursday, April 14, 2005 in Albuquerque, NM. Robert, as he
was known, had lived with his eldest son in the east mountain area for
the last six years. Robert was born in Kosoma, OK, June 9, 1914, one of
six children to George Reid Rankin and Fauna Mae Beauchamp Rankin.
After serving in the Atlantic and Pacific during WW II he returned to
school and trained to be a teacher. He taught for many years in the
Seventh-Day Adventist school system before retiring. He was a member of
the Heights Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Albuquerque. He is survived
by his wife of 64 years, Leora, of Tijeras, NM; sons Bob of Tijeras, NM
and Forrest and wife Corla of Fortine, Montana; daughters Vanessa
Strouse of Houston, TX and Elaine Litts of Oklahoma City, OK. He is
also survived by 9 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren and one
great-great-grandchild. A memorial service will be held at the Heights
Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 4920 Wyoming Blvd., NE on Wednesday,
April 20, 2005 at 4:00 p.m.
4. Margaret Josephine (Rankin) Nelson,
born 19 August 1916 Paris, Texas, died
before 2000 in Yucaipa, California. She married 22 January 1934
in Dallas, Texas Edmond Doak Nelson. After some years working as
a Christian Bible and Book representative by day and directing the
music for Evangelistic radio programs and campaigns by night, Ed was
offered a full-time position as a singing evangelist in 1944. In this
role he was the coordinator of music for the major programs. In
1948 he was ordained to the gospel ministry in Fort Worth, Texas and
his first pastoral assignment was in Galveston, Texas. From
there, the family served churches in Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, Ohio
and California. [page B-4 News-Mirror,
September 2, 1992]
Left: Ed and Marge. Center:
at 50th anniversary in 1984, Marge, Bob and Brenda Starr,
Reid Rankin, Carol (Nelson)
Meckstroth. Right: Ed and Marge, 1988.
5. Myrle Estelle (Rankin) Beaupre,
born 13 June 1919 near Smithville,
Oklahoma, died 3 January 1990 in Texas. [SS Index] She
married 7 September 1941 Max Joseph Beaupre in Dallas, TX
6. William Inman Rankin,
born 10 June 1922
near Smithville, Oklahoma, died 6 December 1990 in Lincoln,
Nebraska. He married 27 August 1948 Ruth Louise Johnson in
Lincoln, Nebraska. Like his eldest brother, he went by his middle name.
Inman and his family in the 1950s,
SOURCES
Bell, Burton J., compiler and editor. 1976 Bicentennial History
of Gordon County Georgia. Gordon Co. Historical Society,
Calhoun,
1976. Includes the complete history of Gordon County written by
Lulie Pitts. My original notes were taken from Pitts, but I cite
page numbers from the Bell work. Neither work is indexed.
Jones, Ann. Rankin family researcher and granddaughter of Mamie
(Rankin) Norton.
Online Social Security Death Index.
Reeve, Jewell B. compiler. Climb
the Hills of Gordon. 1962.
Southern Historical Press, Easley, SC reprint 1979.
Wade, Helen Starr. After the death of Harry, Pauline lived with
her daughters Helen and Alice. Photos herein are from the Starr
family archives and George’s obituary is from Pauline’s
scrapbook.
Woodworth, Robert Bell, editor. The
Descendants of Robert and
John Poage (Pioneer Settlers in Augusta County, Va.): A Genealogy
Based on the Manuscript Collections of Prof. Andrew Woods Williamson,
Henry Martyn Williamson and John Guy Bishop. Volume One
(Descendants of
Robert Poage of Augusta County). Privately printed by The McClure
Printing Company, Staunton, Va. 1954
Home: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lksstarr/
Linda Sparks Starr copyright (c) 2010
