OUR SCOTTISH ANCESTRY

 NEW RESOURCES NOW AVAILABLE ON LINE HAVE REVEALED ANOTHER GENERATION ON OUR RANKIN ANCESTRY!

So this update is coming your way at this time...Just in time for our Rankin Mini-Reunion
on March 31, 2018 in Caldwell, Idaho.  We will present a Scottish theme throughout the weekend and have the following information shared and displayed in various ways to honor our Scottish heritage.

We Now have a JOHN...after so many Alexander's and William's.. James'..we have John Rankine from New Monkland, Scotland..our oldest documented ancestor.


John Rankine (1724-New Monkland) and Margaret Finlay (1729-Hamilton, Lanarkshire )
md March 31, 1751 New Monkland
Three children:

1) William Rankin (December 3,1749- New Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland)
married  Margaret Horn (July 29,1753-  Sunnny Hills, Barony, Lanarkshire, Scotland)
married at Barony (Parish), Lanark, Scotland on November 12, 1775

2)John (September 23, 1752-) New Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland )

3)Jean (December 7, 1755-) New Monkland, Lanarkshire Scotland

We hope to learn more about John and Jean in the near future.

We are descended from William:

William Rankin and Margaret's children: 
John (1776-)
Margaret (1778-)
Marion (1780-)
William (1783-)
James (1786-)
Alexander (1789-1865) married Margery Banks in 1816

We are descended from Alexander (see previous Blog entry)

This family is from New Monkland (Parish) , Lanarkshire, Scotland.

*Note:  All birth records listed above are from "Scotland Births and Baptisms 1564-1950",
(official Scottish Records.)

Question: What was John's occupation? What was William's occupation?
These facts are not listed on any records found to date.
 But we can look at the history of the area at their time.

So looking at the time frame 1724- 1800 in Barony and New Monkland Perishes, both in Lanarkshire, Scotland there are some websites  to follow:

http://www.theglasgowstory.com

http://www.monklands.co.uk

New Monkland was a parish in the former county of Lanarkshire, which disappeared following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1974. The area is now located in North Lanarkshire Council Area, and is some 4 miles (6 km) southeast of Cumbernauld and 4 miles (7 km) northeast of Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire. It contained the town of Airdrie for which there is a very long and worthwhile article in Wikipedia.

The parish had an area of 81.1km² (31.3 sq. miles) and had 8 neighbouring parishes: Bothwell, Cadder, Old Monkland, Shotts in Lanarkshire, Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch in Dunbartonshire, Slamannan in Stirlingshire and Torphichen in West Lothian.

New Monkland was part of the area of coal mining and iron and steel production which brought it to importance during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The coal mines and almost all the iron and steel foundaries have now closed.

New Monkland and Old Monkland were one parish named Monklands prior to 1841.

The name of "Monklands" originated in the grant of lands in the area to the monks of the Cistercian Abbey of Newbattle, Midlothian in 1162. From the seventeenth century the area was formed into the two parishes of New Monkland and Old Monkland.^{[1] Wiklipedia
http://www.monklands.co.uk/monklands/}

"The Barony Parish had origins in 1595 and it emerged due to the pressure of population growth. There had been concern to serve the community's spiritual needs over the entire parochial district and so the Barony was created by the ecclesiastical authorities as a separate pastoral charge from Glasgow. Its territory covered the country or landward section of the old parish and extended from modern Woodside in the west, across the northern boundary of the town, then eastwards to Shettleston. For two centuries the congregation of the Barony Church met in the Crypt of Glasgow Cathedral until they moved to a new building in 1800.

During the 17th century the Barony was not extensively populated. Even by the mid-18th century it was estimated to have only 4,000 inhabitants. Much of the Barony was farmland and Cowcaddens was originally the pasturage area for Glasgow's cattle. Several of the town's mills were also located in the Barony. Yet unlike the burghal entity of Glasgow, whose lands were owned by the town council on behalf of the community, the Barony contained numerous individual landed estates. Significantly, many of the Barony proprietors, like the Walkinshaws of Barrowfield, were keen to encourage industrial development in order to maximise income from their estates.

Proximity to Glasgow also stimulated the Barony's industrial potential. Coal mining was associated first with Camlachie and then far more profitably with the Shettleston area. By the 1760s steam engines were operating in Shettleston's collieries, preventing them from becoming waterlogged. Textiles were another of the Barony's great growth areas. Calton, in the east, and Anderston, in the west, had become flourishing handloom weaving villages by the mid-18th century. Other increasingly populous textile villages were Bridgeton, Grahamston, Finnieston, North Woodside and Parkhead. By the 1790s the number of Barony inhabitants had risen to 18,500 and the parish had acquired a distinctly urban profile."

.So have the Rankin's lived in the Barony Parish area since 1595..or did they come from someplace else?

Henry Whyte wrote a prize essay which was published in 1907 by the Clan MacLean Association entitled “THE RANKINS  Pipers to the MacLeans of Duart, and later to The MacLeans of Coll.”  

http://www.rankine.com.au

This Essay claims the Rankins were Pipers for the Maclean Clan.

We learn from Joshua Dicksons book:The Highland Bagpipe: Music, History, Tradition

By Joshua Dickson

Dr Joshua Dickson - 2013 - ‎Music 

"The Rankins' claim to superiority and their highly distinctive historical name give them a particular significance. The Rankins have been described as hereditary pipers to the MacLeans of Duart and also to the MacLeans of Coll.67 "
pages 118-199 share the oral history of Cuduiligh MacRaing as the first Piper who came with the MacLean chieftains from Ireland and established the first school of Piping on the Isle of Mull. 

If this is true, then the Rankin family is a "sept" of the MacLean Clan. The pipers would have to find a new occupation or profession after 1746.  Perhaps they relocated to Lanarkshire.

"The Rankin’s were pipers to the MacLean’s, when they were in power. The Rankin school of Piping was renowned until 1760."

Another website tells of a a book that also claims the Rankins were pipers for the 

Maclean Clan: Pipe Music of the Clan Maclean

http://www.maclean.org/heritage-trust/pipemusic.php 

""Finally, there is an important historical review of the Rankins, who were the traditional pipers to the Clan Maclean and ran a College of Piping at Kilbrennan on Mull until the late 18th Century. In their day, the Rankins were significant in piping circles and had strong connections with the MacCrimmons and their College on Skye. In modern times they have not received the wider public recognition that other piping families have received, such as the Cummings, Mackays, MacCrimmons, MacArthurs and the MacIntyres. It is hoped that this book will help to restore the Rankins to their rightful place in the history of piping.

(Iain MacInnes, who wrote the chapter on the piping traditions of the Rankins, is a Music Producer at BBC Scotland. 

Also listed on the website is an explanation of the "septs" :

he Names and Families of Clan Maclean

" In addition to the various spellings of Maclean, there are a number of surnames that are traditionally associated with or belong to this great Scottish family. These additional surnames are referred to as “septs” and the following comprise the accepted list.

The Clan Maclean Associations traditionally admit those whose spouse, parent, grandparent or great-grandparent bore either the name Maclean or one of the other recognised spellings or septs.  What's in a Name? - Find out More...

Auchaneson	Beath	Beaton	Black	Clanachan
Dowart	Dowie	Duart	Duie	Garvie
Gillan	Gillon	Gilzean	Hoey	Huie
Lane	Lean	Leitch	MacBeath	MacBeth
MacBheath	MacCormick	MacEachan	Macfadin	MacFadyen
Macfadzean	Macfergan	Macgeachan	MacGilvra	Macildowie
Macilduy	Macilvera	MacLergain	Maclergan	MacPhaiden
MacRankin	MacVeagh	MacVey	Paden	Patten
Rankin	Rankine

The Names and Families of Clan Maclean

Septs

A sept is a family or a kindred (a group of related persons) that for any number of reasons has associated itself with a larger family or kindred. Septs were often small in size and obtaining the protection of a larger more powerful family was of great importance in the unruly Middle Ages and even up to and including the 1700s. In exchange for their protection, the larger family or kindred demanded and received loyalty and sometimes fealty and they treated the sept as part of the overall kindred.

In addition to the various spellings of Maclean, there are a large number of surnames that are traditionally associated with or belong to this great Scottish family. These additional surnames are referred to as “septs” and the following list, although extensive, is not necessarily complete.

In Scotland and Ireland, the concept of the "sept" was commonplace with the protecting family or kindred being referred to as a "clan" More on this can be found at Wikipedia on Septs and Wikipedia on Clans ."

• Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull is the historic seat of the chiefs of the Clan Maclean. The castle is perched on a rock guarding the Sound of Mull. Dating from the thirteenth century it consists of a strong curtain wall as well as a substantial tower or keep that was added in about 1390. There are also later ranges that were built within the courtyard. Duart Castle was abandoned after the Jacobite rising of 1745 and it then became derelict and roofless. However, in 1911 it was acquired by Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 10th Baronet, chief of Clan Maclean who restored it. The castle is still owned by the Macleans of Duart although they now live in Perthshire. The castle is open to the public in the summer. The exterior of Duart Castle was used in the film "Entrapment" with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery, whose mother, Euphemia McBain "Effie" -- née McLean-- was a Maclean.

Bagpipes had been documented as war instruments since the 16th century. Following the battle of Culloden in 1746 the Hanovarians considerd that Highland pipers were guilty of association with Jacobites and consequently were seriously punished. One example, James Reid, a Jacobite prisoner at Carlisle in 1746, pleaded that as a piper he was not an active combatant, but never the less he was condemned because no Highland regiment marched without a piper and in the eyes of the law bagpipes were instruments of war.

http://www.scotsmusic.com/trad/pipes.htm

"Due to their inspirational influence, bagpipes were classified as instruments of war during the Highland uprisings of the early 1700s, and following the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Cullodenin 1746, the government in London attempted to crush the rebellious clan system. An Act of Parliament was passed which made the carrying of weapons, such as those vicious bagpipes, and the wearing of kilts a penal offence."


So...were our ancestors the Rankin pipers ? How did they transition
from pipers to weavers to doctors?  More documentation is needed to find out for sure.  Our parents, William and James Rankin claim they were told from their parents that we are part of the MacLean Clan.

Rankin Tartan

Rankin Coat of Arms

MacLean Family Crest-Rankin Branch

Rankin Crest

"The Coat of Arms granted to a Rankin family depicts three red boars' heads couped between three red battleaxes on a silver shield, and in the centre a green quatrefoil. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert Reynkyn, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Kent", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2017

FORTITER ET RECTE (translation from Latin: "Boldly and Rightly").

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Rankin#ixzz59511joOM

This long-established surname is of early medieval English and Scottish origin, and was developed from the medieval male given name "Rankin", a diminutive form of the given name "Rand(e)", with the hypocoristic suffix "-kin". Rand itself is a short form of any of the various (originally) Germanic compound personal names with the first element "rand" (shield) rim, such as Randolf, with the second element "wolf", wolf. The diminutive form of the name is first recorded in Scotland, where Rankin de Fowlartoun is mentioned in Charters of the Royal Borough of Ayr in 1429. Early examples of the surname include: Reginald Ranekyn (1296, Sussex); Ralph Rankin (1301, Yorkshire); John Randekyn (1381, Suffolk); and in Scotland, John Rankyne, burgess of Glasgow in 1456. The surname has a long history in Scotland; it was found early in Ayrshire, where persons of the name were "small proprietors" before the end of the 16th Century.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Rankin#ixzz5951bNMhs

". A sept or clan was a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. The home of the Rankins was Ayrshire where persons of the name were small proprietors before the end of the sixteenth century." http://www.allfamilycrests.com/r/rankin-family-crest-coat-of-arms.shtml

https://www.facebook.com/LegendaryVocals/videos/216994785527947/?t=3

https://www.facebook.com/MyHeartWillAlwaysBeInScotland/videos/1295410510518455/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA73VZkR4wg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twGJ7w9lYmc

This one /

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjKICkcugsU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOO5qRjVFLw

VIDEO