My Research
	Getting Down To IT.

By IT I mean research. Having indulged my self with my first two puzzles I decided to start checking out the Rankine side of the family, mainly because my mother had left some tantalising snippets in my head. I had already looked up the OPR record for Adam Rankine in the OPRs when I was researching 'Borrow Officer' so now I would verify the information for his family and see what I could find out about them.

My starting point was the data I originally had from my neice which I plotted on a tree, not a lot of informationas she had obviously been only been following our direct line i.e. Adam.

At about this time I got a further email from my neice which was a forward of a message from a 2nd cousin, Kaye, in Australia, which included.

'I have been working on the Lawson  family for sometime and have sent emails to all sorts of people.  My latest is to a person with a family tree which includes Robert Ellice Mack.  He married Elizabeth Ann Lawson, daughter of John and Martha Lawson.  Today I found the death of  a Helen Lawson (b`1812 in Jun 1889 in Fulham Greater London ( Vol1a Pg 150).  I wonder if she is the mother of John Lawson.  Dates fit....but that doesn't mean it is correct.

Have just spent some time trolling thru internet sites and pages of notes trying to find the correct reference for our Ranken/Rankine/McRinkine/Rankine , and sorry to say I have not found it.  I have the information though.

Peter Ranken of Sheill 1508

William Ranken

Lawrence Ranken  Laird of Sheill   1544

William Ranken  ( d 1623) of Sheill married Agnes Crauford of Lochnorris

James Ranken ( d before 1645) married 1619 Daughter of George Douglas of Pennyland ( Glenshramrock )

George Ranken ( d 1680) married Elizabeth Blackwood of Ardgrene

William Rankine

??  Rankine

John Rankine of Adamhill

This was all taken from ??History of Ayr???  Will let you know proper reference when I find it.

As to the Lawsons....I have been attacking this problem from every angle and have found them to be interesting.  Lizze Lawson ( sister of Martha ) was quite an artist in her own right.  You will find many references to her work on the web.  Lizzie married Robert Ellice Mack and had a child Jenny in 1890.  I am sure this is the the child Jenny Mark mentioned in the 1891 census with with John and Martha.  Robert Ellice Mack is in the 1911 Census along with Jenny but not Lizzie. 

....... . I do have the Rankine bible which ??? kindly let me look after, but that only starts with John of Adamhill. I have done alot of research with the census and registry offices here and can confirm the Rankine's up to that point. I also have Adam Rankine's will and some articles about his involvement in exhuming Burns's skull. .........
 
As for later Rankine's I have a scribbled note from Granny (---------) which now makes alot of sense with regards to your research. I'd love to know the sources that got you back to 1508.
 

Now we have that interesting animal 'The Family Tradition' rearing it's ugly head, actually there are three embedded above.

1. An ancestor, John Rankine was the John Rankine of Adamhill, friend of Rabbie Burns and to whom Burns dedicated 4 poems. Annie, John's daughter was supposedly the subject of Burns poem, The Rigs O' Barley. Here we see John McRinkine being named as John Rankine of Adamhill.
2. A Lawson ancestor designed and built the Stained Glass Windows in St. Giles Cathedral
3. Great Grandfather Adam was married twice, the first time to a Danish widow with a son, Charles, who admired his stepfather and took his name.

Tradition 3 has already been documented as Rankine, Charles Henry (1864-1930) - although this research happened later.

So I decided to start to investigate the Burns connection.