John Rankin letter, July 6, 1885   Save
Ohio History Connection Archives/Library
Description: This letter from John Rankin, dated July 6th, 1885, grants James Devers "the privilege of "fiting" stone" on a piece of Rankin's land. The portion of the land where stone should be placed is roughly drawn at the top of the letter. John Rankin was born on February 4, 1793, in Tennessee. He attended Washington College in Virginia and became a noted Presbyterian minister and abolitionist. He eventually moved to Ripley, Ohio, where he was active on the Underground Railroad. The Rankin Home, overlooking the Ohio River, was a safe house for fugitive slaves on their route north. Rankin helped establish the Free Presbyterian Church of America, which prohibited membership to slave owners, as well as the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1835. Rankin also established Ripley College in 1829, and in 1831 enrolled the first African American student in the school. Rankin died on March 18, 1886, in Ironton, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: VFM6294
Subjects: Abolitionists -- Ohio; Rankin, John, 1793-1886; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Land settlement--Ohio;
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)