Margaret Blassingame
Margaret Ann Rankin
(1854-after 1934)
and Addison Holcomb Blassingame (1853-1935)
South Carolina to Texas
Compiled and copyrighted July 2010 by
Linda Sparks Starr
Tintype of Margaret as a child
Margaret Ann, born 11 August 1854 in Anderson
County, was the youngest child of Thomas and Sarah Ann (Orr).
She
grew up during the difficult days of the conflict with the north and
south. Only five or so when her oldest brother went off to Kentucky to
attend college, she probably had few memories of him in connection with
her youth. He returned from Kentucky just in time to head off to the
battle front that spring of 1861. He was lucky if he made it home
the one or two times records suggest the possibility. Once the
conflict was over and he and their uncles made it home from Appomattox,
he wasn’t around long before he left for his new life in
Georgia. Yet, it’s this youngest sister who appears to have
kept in touch with the eldest once the four siblings moved to
Texas. At least she’s the one who sent pictures of
family members to him.
Although the POAGE researcher was told W. R.
was the one to contact for information on the family, it was Margaret
who realized an important item had been left behind when the family
moved to Texas: their heritage in the form of vital statistics.
She requested the brother (George A.) who had access to the Thomas
F. Rankin family Bible send her a copy of the family record entries. A
half-century later these family Bible
entries were shared by one of
Margaret’s daughters with Helen (Starr)
Wade.
Margaret Ann Rankin
On 4 November 1872 Margaret Ann married Addison
“Add” Holcombe Blassingame. Add’s brother,
David W., had married Margaret’s sister Mary earlier that year.
According to one internet website they were sons of Robert Easley
Blassingame (1801-1882) and his second wife, Mildred Jackson
(1814-1891). Although she was married, Margaret was under
legal age in 1873 and 1874 when the Probate Court of Anderson County
appointed
a guardian to represent her interests.
In the 1874 suit W. S. Williams,
Survivor, Plaintiff against the
individual members of the family of Thomas F. Rankin deceased, the
guardian was W. S. Brown. He perhaps represented her as well in
the friendly lawsuit brought by the administrator
de bonis non of the
remainder of the estate of Mary Jane Rankin. The only mention of
the need of a guardian
for Margaret is mentioned in those probate papers. [#2912 Real Estate
Miss Mary Jane Rankin] However, the estate packet does
identify Margaret A. Blassingame as a resident of Pickens County in
1873.
About 1882 Addison, Margaret and their three
daughters posed for a photograph. Curiously, this picture
was identified by Ann Jones as “Will and Margaret” and the
girls as: “May, Annie and Lena” in that
order.
But the
Blassingame website gives the birth dates for the girls as: Cora
Istalena “Lena” 1874; Mary Westfield “May”
1876; and Mildred Anna “Annie” 1878 which agrees with the
1880 census.
In December 1891 this family moved west to Texas
with other families from the area. Many, or perhaps all, were
related to each other. Their move was announced in the 17
December 1891 issue of the Pickens
Sentinel: The
following families left Liberty last Thursday for Texas. Most of them
will stop at Sherman and others will go to other parts of the state:
Wilson Rankin and family, Ad Blassengame and family, John Wilson
and family, J. B. Carson and family, William Stone and family, E. F.
Allgood, James Stone, James Hix, Mrs. Ann Kelley and Miss Mary
Jenkins. The party numbered 75 or 100. The railroad
authorities dropped off a baggage and passenger car the evening before
to carry them.” [Eades]
The people in this photo were tentatively identified
by Ann Jones as: Will and Margaret Blassingame, their daughters, and
Mrs. Blassingame. (a.k.a. Add and David’s mother) Some
researchers think the photo was taken in Texas based on the estimated
ages of the girls standing in the back row. The nickname Will errs and
Add’s mother died before they moved to Texas if the Blassingame
web page is correct about her death date. I suggest these instead
are: Mary (Rankin) Blassingame, wife of David, Add Blassingame,
Jennifer (born 1883) youngest daughter of Mary & David Blassingame,
and Margaret (Rankin) Blassingame. The three standing behind are Add
and Margaret’s daughters: Anna, Lena and May. Either
that, or this photo was taken in South Carolina before 1891 which is
entirely possible. But then who the extra female is needs to be
explored. Confirmation or correction will be appreciated.
The celebration of Addison and Margaret’s 62nd
wedding anniversary in 1934 was published
in The Democrat. A more
specific identification of the newspaper was not provided in the
papers of the Rankin family in Georgia. "VAN ALSTYNE – Mr. and Mrs. Addison
H. Blassingame, aged 81
and 80 respectively, are celebrating 62 years of married life. Both
were born in Anderson county, S.C. where they were married Nov. 14,
1872. In 1891 they came to Texas and settled in the Elmont
community where Mrs. Blassingame joined the Baptist church. About 1900
they moved to Van Alstyne.
Three daughters
were born to them, all of whom are
now living. These are Mrs. Lena Thornton, Sulphur, Okla., Mrs. May
Bowen, Dallas, and Mrs. Garvin Bray, Celina. There are eleven
grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Members of the
families united by this marriage were
active in the civil war. David W. Blassingame served four months at the
close of the war. Mrs. Blassingame had two brothers under arms, George
Rankin, who was advanced to rank of captain, and Will Rankin. All of
these men enlisted at the age of 16.
W. N. Rankin of
Howe is a brother and Mrs. Addie
Farmer* of Easley, S. C. is a sister of Mrs. Blassingame. Despite
age and infirmity, Mr. and Mrs. Blassingame talk interestingly about
old days. Bibles and other relics establish their connection with
the past."
[LSS note: the Blassingame web page identifies one of Add’s
sisters as Susan Adelaide “Addie” Blassingame, who married
Benjamin Franklin Farmer.]
According to Ann Jones, Mary Westfield was born 1 April 1876 and she
married John D. Bowen. They had: John B. Bowen who married Ann
Rose Scott, and Ruth Bowen who married C. D. Godwin. She added
that she met Ruth (Bowen) Godwin at Helen (Starr) Wade’s Dallas
home in 1979. Thus Ruth may be the person who gave Helen the
Rankin Bible records collected by Margaret.
John and Mae Blassingame Bowen
Annie Blassingame
The above photo, taken about 1895, was identified by Aunt Helen as
Annie Blassingame,
“Mama’s cousin on
father’s side.” Annie was a
daughter of Margaret Rankin Blassingame.
Ann Jones gave 13 February 1878 as the birth date for
Mildred Annie Blassingame and added that she married Garvin B.
Bray. They had: Margaret F. who married Samuel Jennings;
James G. who
married Lucy Neil; Mildred A. who married Carl E. Broyles; Mary K. who
married Paul O. Breen; and Myra who married J. W. Sprenkle.
A picture post card was
addressed by Margaret to her
brother, W. R. Rankin. It identifies the boy on the pony as Boone.
Elsewhere Boone is more fully identified as
Boone Thornton, son of Lena (Blassingame) and William Timothy
Thornton. Ann Jones gave 22 March 1874 as the specific birth date
for Cora. According to Ann , "Cora” and Wm T. Thornton
had Lile who married Myrtle Ness; Boone; William T. Jr.; and Bess who
married Ray Riley.
SOURCES
Anderson County records located at the South Carolina Department of
Archives and History, Columbus.
Blassingame family information:
http://www.rowberry.org/rickhsite/blass.htm
Eades, Barbara, descendant via Blassingame.
FamilySearch.org
Jones, Dr. Ann Norton, descendant of W. R. Rankin. She had access
to all the family records and photographs of William Robertson Rankin
of Calhoun, GA.
Wade, Helen Starr, descendant of W. R. Rankin
Linda Sparks Starr copyright (c) June 2010
lsstarr@pilgrimage.us
Home: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lksstarr/
