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From my grandmother's photo collection: Dr Rains had is office in Rankin and later Bardwell. This photo was made between 1900 and 1910 in front of his office in Rankin. He is supposed to have had the first automobile in the community and one of the first in Ellis County. If we could identify the make and model, we might be able to pinpoint the year. My mother was delivered by Dr. Rains in 1915. I was born in 1934 across the road and about 100 yards west of where this photo was made. For the past 21 years I have been the official corresponding secretary and co-chairman of the Rankin Reunion Committee and un-official historian of the community. I am in the process of writing a new History of Rankin, Ellis County, Texas. By combining many of the research tools and data bases available through the internet with first hand acquaintance with all of the historical Rankin families, and my own experience of being born and raised there, I hope to correct many of the myths and errors surrounding the history of Rankin and Austonia that have been written by 3rd party folks from heresy information. This is being provided to the Ellis County Historical Society in support of a State of Texas Historical Marker we plan to have errected in the community.
William Gorman |
