Arthur Rankin

Arthur Rankin (1816 – March 13, 1893) was a surveyor, entrepreneur, militia officer, and political figure in Canada West. Rankin was born in Montreal in 1816, the son of Irish immigrants. He ran away from home at the age of 15, and became a cabin boy on a New York-to-London packet boat. In 1835, he returned to Canada and apprenticed with his brother, Charles Rankin, to be a surveyor in the Windsor area. In 1837, Rankin moved to Toronto where he received a commission as an ensign for the 2nd Queen's Light Infantry. While on leave in Ohio, Rankin attacked two bounty hunters who had captured an escaped slave from Kentucky. Rankin smuggled the man from Cleveland, Ohio, to Toronto. Rankin transferred to the 2nd Battalion of Provincial Volunteer Militia and, in 1838, took part in the Battle of Windsor, fighting to recapture Pelee Island from the Patriots. Later that year, a group of patriots attacked Windsor, killing four militiamen, and setting fire to the British barracks, the steamer Thames, and several houses. Rankin mustered a company of 60 men who helped chase the American Patriots from their position at a local farm.