David Coulter Rankin

Two pieces of data from Westmoreland County Historical Society

1.) Records of deaths 1818-1865, Page 85: "David Rankin, Sr., Grapeville, died June 7, 1857, aged 80y, 6m." Published on June 23, 1857.

2.) Old Brush Creek Cemetery records, Page 4 (currently Adamsburg cemetery) notes that there are two David Rankins in this cemetery. One who died 1866. The other was noted to be unreadable but thought to be engraved a death date of June 2, 1858.

I believe the inscription was traced wrong as the stone is so badly covered and unreadable it would be easy to mistake the 7 for a 2 and possibly the 1857 as 1858. However, there is an unreadable stone in line with the other known Rankins, that is highly likely to be that of this David Rankin, that at one point was legible enough to make this record now at WCHS. It is important to note that the same record had the incorrect birth year of the son David, incorrectly noting it as 1801 instead of 1810, or perhaps it was a typo.

Westmoreland County Deed Book Vol.17 Pg. 186 indicates his middle name was Coulter.

His wife was Martha "Mattie" Culbertson, daughter of John Culbertson. They were married between 1797-1800. Their known children were John Culbertson Rankin 1805-1897, Chambers Rankin 1805-1835, David Rankin 1810-1866, Culbertson Rankin c.1817-1851, and Martha 1818-1878 (married surname Bisel). There may have been other children born to David and Martha.

David was the son of David & Mary (Cochran) Rankin of Unity Township, Westmoreland County. His father died in 1790. His mother died between 1788-1790. Mary was the daughter of William Cochran of Derry Township, Westmoreland County who died in 1794.

His siblings were Daniel, Jane (married David Kennedy), William (who died between 1824-1833 with heirs), Matthew, Margaret (married Joseph Fulton), Martha "Matty" (who married John Beatty), and Chambers (who died young between 1796-1824, without heirs).