As one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, Frederick Harrison Rankin received title to a sitio and a labor of land in what later became Harris County. The census of March 1826 listed him as a farmer and stock raiser with a household including his wife, Elizabeth "Polly" (Smith), two sons, and three servants. Rankin had eight children. His house at the head of the San Jacinto River was a polling place in October 1830. After several years he moved near to Spring Creek and in 1832 to Polk County. He attended a meeting of "Old Texians" held in Houston in March 1849 to recommend quieting of land titles in the state. In 1850 he was living in Polk County. He subsequently resided in Navarro County and in 1874 was living on Chambers Creek in Ellis County. He later purchased the Ellis County property, eighteen miles south of Waxahachie, and settled there. He died on July 2, 1874, and was buried in Myrtle Cemetery at Ennis. In 1936 the Texas Centennial Commission erected a monument at his grave.
The community named for Frederick Harrison Rankin is located southeast of Avalon and southwest of Bardwell at the intersection of FM 877 and FM 984.
The settlement first received its mail at Astonia in 1879. Growth was slow but by 1892, Rankin had two businesses, three churches and a school. U. S. Postal files reveal that March 7, 1900, marked the end for the Astonia post office and it was moved to Rankin. Alex M. Rankin was appointed first postmaster, followed by Percy L. Goodwyn, Sept. 8, 1904. Service was discontinued Sept. 14, 1905 and mail brought from Bardwell, Wright Poff the carrier.
F. L. Woodwin had the first store in Rankin and W. G. Gidding, of Ennis, supplied the groceries. Guy Youngblood had the first gin.
In 1878 and 1879, the Chambers Creek Masonic Lodge No. 499 met on the upper floor of the store which still stands in Rankin. There were twenty members with John Matlock, Worshipful Master, and T. S. Nettles, secretary. The membership was made up of citizens from the Rankin, Astonia/Austonia, and Avalon area.
This cache is a simple three stager, and a good way to get started finding all the caches in the Myrtle Cemetery. Near the posted coordinates is a Texas Historic marker. You need to find the marker and answer the questions to get the coordinates for the next stage.
| At Stage I: What was Myrtle Cemetery was named for? |
| A |
The Mother |
N32° 19.402 W096° 38.505 |
| B |
A Town |
N32° 19.398 W096° 38.487 |
| C |
A Child |
N32° 19.392 W096° 38.543 |
| |
|
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| At Stage II: On what date did Elizabeth Rankin die? |
| A |
June 1, 1882 |
N32° 19.386 W096° 38.623 |
| B |
June 12, 1881 |
N32° 19.286 W096° 38.523 |
| C |
July 2, 1874 |
N32° 19.306 W096° 38.423 |
When you get to the third and final stage, you are looking for a magnetic nano, just to get you started. This is a very large cemetery, but I don't think you will need a map to get around.
Avoid the use of acronym only logs and cut 'n paste logs. You must sign the log to claim the find. No exceptions, no excuses. Blank logs may be deleted without notice.