Robert Rankin was born in Ithaca, New York, in the United States of America, on the 23rd March 1882, the son of George Sherwood and Sarah Rankin (née Atwater). He was the second-eldest of four children, and his father was a crockery merchant.
He was an electrical engineer by profession, and was employed for a time by the Westinghouse company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 1907 to 1914, he worked for an electric power company in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and married Enid Duryea Scott on the 18th January 1911, in Sao Paulo. His wife was also from New York.
In 1914, Robert and his wife returned to Ithaca, New York, and shortly afterwards, Robert decided to travel to Europe on personal business. His intention was to conduct business in England, before travelling to Spain, and from there, return to Brazil.
For the first part of his journey, he booked saloon passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool. He gave his forwarding address when he booked his ticket, (which was numbered 46151), as The Seville Hotel in New York City.
He boarded the liner on the morning of her departure, 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing, but had to wait until the early afternoon before she actually left her berth at Pier 54. This was because she had to take on board passengers, cargo and some crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war work as a troop ship. Robert Rankin was allocated room E43, which the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward Vincent Settle who came from Anfield, a suburb of Liverpool.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed twelve miles off the coas
sank two miles closer inland after only 18 minutes. At that stage of her voyage, she was only 250 miles from her home port.
Robert Rankin was fortunate enough to be counted amongst the survivors, once the steamer had foundered, and having been rescued from the sea, he was landed at Queenstown, from where he managed to complete his journey to England. He was aged 33 years at the time of the sinking.
Bedroom Steward Vincent Settle, who had looked after Mr. Rankin in room E43, also survived the sinking and eventually got back to his Anfield home.
On his return to the United States, in June 1915, Robert Rankin filed a claim for the loss of cash and personal property to the value of $1,362.00, which was later agreed to by the Mixed Claims Commission who awarded him the full amount.
After returning to the United States of America, Robert Rankin secured a position of manager of Andersen, Meyer and Company’s business in Peking, China, and he and his wife travelled to Peking in late 1915. Their son, and only child, Peter, was born in Peking on the 18th July 1918, and died on the 15th September 1920.
Sometime after the death of their son, Robert and his wife returned to New York, where their marriage broke down and they divorced.
On the 23rd February 1925, Robert married Florence Hilda Masters Rigby in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. The couple had two daughters – Hilda Page, born in 1929, and Virginia Sherwood, born in 1934. Unfortunately, Hilda died from brain cancer in 1937, aged eight years.
During the Second World War, Robert worked as a civilian for the Board of Economic Warfare in Washington D.C., and it is not known if he returned to Canada after the war, although his wife and daughter resided there.
Robert Rankin died in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on the 10th August 1959, aged 77 years.
Massachusetts U.S. Death Index 1901 – 1980, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1905 New York State Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, U.S. Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1895 – 1960, California Passenger Lists 1882 – 1959, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Canada Ocean Arrivals 1919 – 1924, Cunard Records, North America Family Histories 1500 – 2000, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 433, The Ithaca Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PRO 22/71, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Robert Rankin was born in Ithaca, New York, in the United States of America, on the 23rd March 1882, the son of George Sherwood and Sarah Rankin (née Atwater). He was the second-eldest of four children, and his father was a crockery merchant.
He was an electrical engineer by profession, and was employed for a time by the Westinghouse company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 1907 to 1914, he worked for an electric power company in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and married Enid Duryea Scott on the 18th January 1911, in Sao Paulo. His wife was also from New York.
In 1914, Robert and his wife returned to Ithaca, New York, and shortly afterwards, Robert decided to travel to Europe on personal business. His intention was to conduct business in England, before travelling to Spain, and from there, return to Brazil.
For the first part of his journey, he booked saloon passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool. He gave his forwarding address when he booked his ticket, (which was numbered 46151), as The Seville Hotel in New York City.
He boarded the liner on the morning of her departure, 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing, but had to wait until the early afternoon before she actually left her berth at Pier 54. This was because she had to take on board passengers, cargo and some crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war work as a troop ship. Robert Rankin was allocated room E43, which the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward Vincent Settle who came from Anfield, a suburb of Liverpool.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed twelve miles off the coas
sank two miles closer inland after only 18 minutes. At that stage of her voyage, she was only 250 miles from her home port.
Robert Rankin was fortunate enough to be counted amongst the survivors, once the steamer had foundered, and having been rescued from the sea, he was landed at Queenstown, from where he managed to complete his journey to England. He was aged 33 years at the time of the sinking.
Bedroom Steward Vincent Settle, who had looked after Mr. Rankin in room E43, also survived the sinking and eventually got back to his Anfield home.
On his return to the United States, in June 1915, Robert Rankin filed a claim for the loss of cash and personal property to the value of $1,362.00, which was later agreed to by the Mixed Claims Commission who awarded him the full amount.
After returning to the United States of America, Robert Rankin secured a position of manager of Andersen, Meyer and Company’s business in Peking, China, and he and his wife travelled to Peking in late 1915. Their son, and only child, Peter, was born in Peking on the 18th July 1918, and died on the 15th September 1920.
Sometime after the death of their son, Robert and his wife returned to New York, where their marriage broke down and they divorced.
On the 23rd February 1925, Robert married Florence Hilda Masters Rigby in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. The couple had two daughters – Hilda Page, born in 1929, and Virginia Sherwood, born in 1934. Unfortunately, Hilda died from brain cancer in 1937, aged eight years.
During the Second World War, Robert worked as a civilian for the Board of Economic Warfare in Washington D.C., and it is not known if he returned to Canada after the war, although his wife and daughter resided there.
Robert Rankin died in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on the 10th August 1959, aged 77 years.
Massachusetts U.S. Death Index 1901 – 1980, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1905 New York State Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, U.S. Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1895 – 1960, California Passenger Lists 1882 – 1959, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Canada Ocean Arrivals 1919 – 1924, Cunard Records, North America Family Histories 1500 – 2000, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 433, The Ithaca Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PRO 22/71, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.