Rankin, Henry Ashby, 1872-1947

Henry Ashby Rankin was born in Fayetteville, N.C., and spent most of his life as the owner of a sawmill and plywood business in Cumberland County, N.C. After retirement, he ran a nursery that specialized in native plants of North Carolina. He was an avid amateur botanist and corresponded regularly with members of the botanical community, with whom he exchanged specimens. Two of his botanical achievements were the discovery of a new species of Gelsemium and the re-discovery of a plant first collected and described by the French botanist Andre Michaux and then lost for 125 years. He was a long-time member of the Gray Memorial Botanical Association. He died in 1947.

From the description of Henry Ashby Rankin papers, 1920-1949. WorldCat record id: 159933166

Henry Ashby Rankin was born on 15 June 1872 in Fayetteville, N.C., to Samuel Rankin and Mattie Thomas. He spent most of his life as the owner of a sawmill and plywood business Cumberland County, N.C. After retirement, he ran a nursery that specialized in native plants of North Carolina. He was an avid amateur botanist and corresponded regularly with members of the botanical community, with whom he exchanged specimens. Two of his major achievements as a botanist were the discovery of a new species of Gelsemium, Gelsemium rankinii, and the re-discovery of a plant first collected and described by the French botanist Andre Michaux, and then lost for 125 years, the Carolina Grass-of Parnassus, or Parnassia caroliniana . Rankin was a long-time member of the Gray Memorial Botanical Association, at one point serving as president and at another as editor of the Association's bulletin. He died on 21 June 1947.

From the guide to the Henry Ashby Rankin Papers, 1920-1949, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)