Fonds F.0001 - John Rankin fonds

John Rankin was born on January 30, 1834, near Glasgow, Scotland. In 1849 he became an apprentice with W. and G. Miller, Dry Goods in Glasgow. He sailed for New York in 1855 and settled first in London, then in Dundas in 1856. He eventually became the manager of the Dundas Woollen Mill for G.M. Barton. A job offer in Scotland saw him return there briefly in 1858, but he returned to Dundas via Montreal in 1859. He met his wife Janet Ann Ball in 1862 and they were married in 1864. He borrowed money in 1866 to open his own store, John Rankin Clothing and Dry Goods Store but was nearly bankrupted in 1876. In 1877 Rankin built a home on Sydenham Street and that enterprise proved costly. He sold his store in 1879, clerked in Sarnia in 1880, and became manager of a friend’s store in Wyoming, Ontario. John Rankin died there suddenly on March 20, 1881 after a fall on an icy sidewalk, leaving his wife and four surviving children.