Christopher RANKIN, Congress, MS (1788-1826)

RANKIN, Christopher, a Representative from Mississippi; born in Washington County, Pa., in 1788; completed preparatory studies at Canonsburg, Pa., moved to Georgia; taught a village school and studied law at the same time; was admitted to the bar in 1809 and commenced practice in Liberty, Amite County, Miss.; member of the territorial legislature in 1813; moved to Natchez, Miss., in 1816 and practiced law; member of the state constitutional convention in 1817; unsuccessful candidate for United States Senator in 1817; held several local offices; elected as a Republican to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses, reelected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress, and elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1819, until his death in Washington, D.C., March 14, 1826; chairman, Committee on Public Lands (Seventeenth through Nineteenth Congresses); interment in the Congressional Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present