George
Washington Rankin
(1881-1970)
George
Washington Rankin was born in Wharton Twp., Fayette County, PA on March 13,
1881, the son of Robert and Hester
(Minerd) Rankin.
On Dec. 28, 1901, when he was age 20, George married Daisy M. Franks. They resided with his parents in Wharton Township, but the marriage was not stable. In January 1902 she left and went to her parents’ home in German Twp. She returned to her husband in April of that year but by Christmas had left again. During the short marriage, two children were born, but at least one if not both are thought to have died. George and Daisy divorced in January 1907.
Later, George married Lillie "Pearl" Fields (1887-1927). They went on to have 12 children – Verna Morrison, Blanche Marinda Alisvard, Bessie Mae Squires, Donald Edward Rankin, Earl Raymond Rankin, Cora Belle Henigan, Herbert Rankin, Delbert Amadee "Pete" Rankin, Edith Taylor, Sarah Pearl Miller, Alvie Rankin and Margaret Viola Rankin. Tragically, their two youngest children – Alvie and Margaret – both died young.
Pearl died at the far too young age of 39 on July 2, 1927. She is buried at the Brown Cemetery near Elliottsville.
In 1936, George made news when he helped rescue victims of an airplane wreck. That year, on April 6, a TWA airliner named the Sunracer crashed in the mountains above Uniontown. Everyone was killed except the flight attendant and 2 passengers. The attendant escaped the wreckage and somehow stumbled to the home of George’s nephew, Ray Addis. George and his brother Alfred and nephews Harold and Robert all went together to the wreckage to help remove survivors.
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| Beautiful vista at the summit of the mountains near Elliottsville |
George lived for another 43 years after his wife's death, and died in 1970, at the age of 89. Their grave marker, photographed in 1995, is blackened with age, and barely legible.
Son Earl Rankin worked at H.C. Frick Coke Co.'s Phillips coal mine and coke plant near Uniontown. The facility was widely considered a model of efficiency and safety for the time. But tragedy struck on July 22, 1941 when Earl was killed in a freak accident. A newspaper reported: “The car left the rails and crashed into a post, causing a fall of slate. It was several hours before rescuers could clear the debris and remove the dead and injured men."
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| Rare views of the old Phillips coke plant near Uniontown |
Of
the many known Minerd-Miner-Minor cousins to be killed in a coal-coke-steel
workplace accident, Earl is the one of the last. This is a macabre tribute to
improved safety measures in the latter half of the 20th century.
Daughter Edith Rankin married Donald R. Taylor Sr. The Taylors’ son, Corporal Roger L. Taylor, died sometime prior to 1986. We are researching whether his death was related to military service.
Son Delbert Rankin was a factory worker with Chevrolet Motor in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH. He died in 1975 of "injuries sustained in an automobile accident."
Daughter Verna Rankin married (?) Morrison. She died on Oct. 14, 2000, the last living member of her family.
Daughter Sarah Rankin married Homer C. Miller, a distant cousin who was the son of Jesse and Flora Belle (Farabee) Miller. Sadly, Sarah died at age 24 in 1930, with her funeral held at Windy Gap Church in Greene County, PA. Their daughter in law, Martha 'Sally' Miller, is a correspondent for the Claysville (PA) Weekly Recorder, writing a weekly 'Burnsville Bulletins' column.
Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 Mark A. Miner