The son of Dr. William McGinley & Caroline Olivia (Nevin) Rankin, in 1860 he was a clerk living in Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 7" tall and had dark hair and dark eyes. A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Shippensburg August 4, 1862, and mustered into federal service at Harrisburg August 17 as a private with Co. D, 130th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was hospitalized for illness at Bolivar Heights, (West) Virginia, October 20, 1862, transferred to Broad Street U.S. Hospital in Philadelphia on December 11, 1862, and there discharged the service by surgeon's certificate January 6, 1863, for "chronic rheumatism." Turning to real estate agent as his occupation, in 1880 he lived in Sewickley, Allegheny County, and was still there in 1916. He married Mary Frances Gilliam January 9, 1882, and fathered Bruce Nevin (b. 01/06/83, d. 01/25/89). Cause of death is listed as "carcinoma of cervical glands" with "uremia and cachexia [weight loss]" contributing factors.