Joseph Rankin

Who was Joseph Rankin?

Joseph Rankin was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Rankin pursued an academic course. He moved to Mishicot, Wisconsin, in 1854 and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He served as member of the county board in 1859. He served as member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1860. During the Civil War Rankin enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and was chosen captain of Company D, Twenty-sixth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After the war he settled in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He was city clerk of Manitowoc from 1866 till 1871. He was again a member of the State Assembly 1871-1874 and once again served from 1877-1882.

Rankin was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses and served from March 4, 1883, until his death in Washington, D.C., January 24, 1886. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery, Manitowoc, Wisconsin.