Christopher Rankin

Christopher Rankin (1788 – March 14, 1826) was an attorney and politician from Pennsylvania, who moved to the Mississippi Territory in 1809. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1817, and was later elected as a U.S. Representative for several terms, serving from 1819 to 1826.

Christopher Rankin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1819 – March 14, 1826
Preceded byGeorge Poindexter
Succeeded byWilliam Haile
Chairman of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources
In office
1821–1826
Preceded byRichard Clough Anderson, Jr.
Succeeded byJohn Scott
Personal details
Born1788 (1788)
Washington County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMarch 14, 1826(1826-03-14) (aged 37–38)
Washington D.C., U.S.
Resting placeCongressional Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Other political
affiliations		Jacksonian

Early life and education

Born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Rankin attended preparatory studies at Jefferson College (now Washington & Jefferson College) in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and graduated in 1808.[1] He moved to Georgia, where he taught a village school and studied law at the same time. After being admitted to the bar in 1809, he began practice in Liberty, Mississippi.

Political career

Rankin was elected to a term as a member of the territorial legislature in 1812, serving one year. He moved to Natchez, Mississippi, in 1816 and practiced law. He was elected as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1817. That year he ran as an unsuccessful candidate for United States Senator in 1817 (the position at that time was elected by the state legislature). After that, he held several local offices.

Rankin was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses, reelected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress, and elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1819, until his death in Washington, D.C., March 14, 1826. He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands (Seventeenth through Nineteenth Congresses). He was interred in the Congressional Cemetery.

See also

References
  • United States Congress. "Christopher Rankin (id: R000054)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  1. Eaton, Samuel John Mills; Woods, Henry (1902). Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College. Philadelphia: G.H. Buchanan and Company. p. 21. OCLC 2379959. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
George Poindexter		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's at-large congressional district
March 4, 1819 – March 14, 1826		 Succeeded by
William Haile
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