In 1862 John Rankine published his biography of his grandfather William Symington. John Rankine 1812-1870 was the son of Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of William Symington. This work was based on William Symington’s own Memorial which he submitted to Treasury in 1826. 

Published by A. Johnston, bookseller in Falkirk, the Rankine Biography was produced in at least two formats: one with dark green cover and folding plates, the other with a burgundy cover and the plates pasted in. The format was duodecimo, 10.4 cm by 16 cm with 82 pages and three plates: Lateral section of steam carriage model, built in 1786; Lateral section of the original steam boat, built in 1788; Lateral Section of the Charlotte Dundas, built in 1801. [1]

[1] In fact built in 1802 and trialled in 1803

REPORTS IN THE FALKIRK HERALD

Falkirk Herald Thursday 28 March 1861 page 3

SYMINGTON TESTIMONIAL. —Mr John Rankine, of the Pleasance, Falkirk, grandson of William Symington, who may not be inaptly termed the author of steam navigation, has issued a prospectus of a work, the object of which is to give a history of the invention and improvement of steam navigation. The free proceeds are to be devoted to the erection of a monument to Symington, whose name has not had the prominence assigned to it which it deserves. The publication is to be inscribed, by permission, to David Napier, Esq., of Glasgow, the oldest and most successful steamboat engineer upon the Clyde. Several hundreds of subscribers have already, we understand, enrolled their names, but, in order to justify Mr Rankine in carrying out his dutiful and praiseworthy undertaking, further support is required, and we trust it will not be found wanting.

Falkirk Herald Thursday 13 February 1862

NOW IN THE PRESS, And will be Ready in a few Days, Price 1s 6d, 

THE BIOGRAPHY OF SYMINGTON, the Inventor Steam Navigation, and Steam Locomotion on Land; with a History of that Great Invention, from 1786 to 1862. Together with Drawings. Edited by J. & W. H. RANKINE. 

This Work has received the Patronage of the Right Hon. the EARL of ZETLAND, the PROVOST and MAGISTRATES of Falkirk, and many Eminent Engineers. 

The Manuscript has been submitted to DAVID NAPIER, Esq., Engineer, and that Gentleman has kindly permitted the Work to be Dedicated to him. 

The Profits the Work to applied to the placing of some Mark of Honour on the Unmarked Grave of Symington. 

Orders received at the Herald Office, Falkirk, and by Messrs Duncan and Coubrough.

Before it was published as a book, the Rankine Biography had been serialized in the pages of the Falkirk Herald (excluding the illustrations) as follows:

BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM SYMINGTON, CIVIL ENGINEER; INVENTOR OF STEAM LOCOMOTION BY SEA AND LAND, ALSO, A BRIEF HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION, WITH DRAWINGS. DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO DAVID NAPIER, ESQ., ENGINEER, &c., BY J. & W.H. RANKINE, ENGINEERS.

PUBLISHED BY A. JOHNSTON, BOOKSELLER, FALKIRK. 1862.

Duodecimo, eighty-two pages. Printed at the Falkirk Herald office.

The authors of this biography of William Symington are John Rankine of Rankine’s Lane, Pleasance, Falkirk, grandson of William Symington and his son William Henry Rankine. A review of the Rankine book appeared in the Falkirk Herald on Thursday, March 20, 1862, page 2, columns A-C.

The typeset is taken direct from the columns of the Falkirk Herald in which the substance of the book had been published verbatim and serialized in fourteen articles under the title: BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM SYMINGTON, (THE INVENTOR OF EFFICIENT STEAM NAVIGATION.) BY HIS GRANDSON.

The content of these articles is identical with the book except that the dedication and preface from the book are not included and the book concludes with observations about steam craft then in use on the Forth and Clyde and Monkland Canals and also makes reference to Steam Navigation in the Royal Navy. (Pages 79 to 82)

The articles in the Falkirk Herald appeared on a weekly basis from Tuesday, October 22, 1861, concluding on Tuesday, January 21, 1862. Although W.H. Rankine shares authorship of the book, John Rankine was the sole author of the newspaper articles and was therefore responsible for the content of the book.   

Tuesday, October 22, 1861 page 2

“William Symington, the real inventor of Steam Navigation, was a native of Leadhills …

… broken down by misfortunes.” (Begins page 3 of book, ends top page 8).

Tuesday October 29, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE SECOND]

“The merit of having invented steam navigation …

… to play their part.”  (Begins top page 8 of book, ends page 14).

Tuesday, November 5, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE THIRD.]

“Of the many subjects upon which there has been …

… John Garret, Mayor.” (Begins page 14 of the book, ends page 19)

Tuesday, November 12, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE FOURTH]

“6. William Blackie, residing at Edinburgh … 

… Robert Dundas, J.P.” (Begins page19, ends page 24)

Tuesday, November 19, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE FIFTH.]

“11. John Allen, residing at Grangemouth …

… Jacob Parkins.”  (Page 24 to page 29).

Tuesday, November 26, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE SIXTH.]

“The following letters were only lately discovered …

… Mechanics’ Magazine, July 9, 1831.” (Page 29 to page 33) 

(Note extracts numbered here 10 to 18 are 1 to 7 then 17 and 18 in the book)

Tuesday, December 3, 1861 page 2 

[ARTICLE SEVENTH.]

“16. Mr Taylor (who is now also dead) …

… J. Dickson, Engineer.” (Page 33 to page 39)

Tuesday, December 10, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE EIGHTH.]

“18. The late Wm. Symington’s claim …

… in which they were taught.” (Page 39 to page 45)

Tuesday, December 17, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE NINTH.]

“The improvement in the steam-engine …

… Wanlockhead, 8th Sept., 1786.” (Page 45 to page 52)

Tuesday, December 24, 1861 page 2

[ARTICLE TENTH.]

“Mr Beaumont-Sir, …

… between Grangemouth and Glasgow.” (Page 52 to page 57)

NOTES ON THE RANKINE BIOGRAPHY

As in the Bowie Narrative, the Biographic section on "His Early Life" is based on the Memorial which William Symington sent to Treasury with his Petition and drawings. 

Rankine refers to "certificates Nos. 15 and 16" which confirmed his enrolment in the University of Edinburgh (page 3 and correspondence from Dr. Bowie relating to his enrolment on page 26). Rankine wrote that Symington had matriculated as a student at the University. The term matriculation refers to the procedure of enrolment and not to an academic qualification. Page nine contains in which he was said to be attending classes in 1756-7. This should read 1786-7.

It is noted that William Symington was still in the employment of the Wanlockhead Mining Company whilst conducting the experiments for Patrick Miller from 1788 to 1790.

The merits are examined of others who claimed to have introduced steam navigation.

There are copies of various affidavits including some dated 1824 and 1825 which were collected to support the Petition, with one dated 1827 from Alexander Sclanders, boat builder, who had acted as helmsman in the March 1803 trial of the Charlotte Dundas.

Extracts are included from scientific publications and newspapers and original correspondence to confirm that William Symington was the first to introduce the steam engine to propel a boat and to move a land carriage.

There are three plates:

Figure 1 Lateral Section of steam Carriage Model, Built in 1786

Figure II Lateral Section of the Original Steam boat, Built in 1786

Figure III Lateral Section of the Charlotte Dundas, Built in 1801

Figures I and II were prepared by William Symington 1802-1867 and published in the Mechanics' Magazine. Figure III, a lithograph by Allan & Ferguson, Glasgow, incorrectly states that the Charlotte Dundas was built in 1801. The correct date of construction for this vessel is 1802.

The boat engined for Patrick Miller and exhibited on 14 October 1788 is described: this twin-hulled vessel measured 25 feet long by 7 feet broad and was driven by two four inch diameter brass cylinders. This engine ultimately found its way into the Museum at South Kensington after restoration.

There are mistakes relating to the naming of the vessels built for Lord Dundas. William Symington designed and built two distinct vessels for Lord Dundas, the construction of the first commencing in 1800 and the second was built in 1802.  From page 5 of the Biography, Rankine writes "in 1801, the first boat, named the "Charlotte Dundas" (in honour of his lordship's daughter, afterwards Lady Milton)." It is claimed further that both vessels were named Charlotte Dundas (page 6) but that appears to be incorrect.  The legend to the figure depicting the Charlotte Dundas has the date of construction incorrectly as 1801. Furthermore, the Charlotte Dundas was not named after Lady Milton. That mistake first appeared in the Bowie Narrative.

However, when John Rankine wrote to the Falkirk Herald in 1869 relating to the invention of Steam Navigation, he asserted that "Lord Dundas employed Symington to build two boats," namely "the Lady Dundas and the Charlotte Dundas." [1] This statement appears to be the only record of the name of the first boat which was also known as the Experiment.  "Lady Dundas " would seem a likely name for the first boat to be constructed for Lord Dundas. In his article, Rankine explained that "Carron Company had only made three boat engines in all. The first was for Miller from Symington's second patent, in 1788; the other two for Lord Dundas in 1801 and 1802, called Lady Dundas and Charlotte Dundas, …"

Lord Dundas commissioned his first steamboat in June 1800. At a meeting in London of the Board of Governors of the Forth and Clyde Navigation Company on 5th June 1800, Lord Dundas produced "a Model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a Steam Engine With a Plan of the engine by Mr Symington, for tracking vessels on the Canal." It was ordered that "a Boat be immediately built after Captain Schank's Model and an Engine erected after Mr Symington's Plan." [2]

This boat was demonstrated on the Forth and Clyde Canal in June 1801. [3] 

The Charlotte Dundas was the second boat constructed for Lord Dundas. Built by John Allen of Grangemouth construction of the Charlotte Dundas commenced in June 1802.  Rankine incorrectly stated that Alexander Hart was the builder. 

The Rankine Biography gives a description of the Charlotte Dundas with her dimensions (page 58): "She was 56 feet long, 18 feet beam, and 8 feet deep. There was a cavity in the stern and in the middle of the breadth of the boat, open behind and below, measuring 4 feet wide and 12 feet long, for the paddle wheel.""She was steered by two rudders connected by iron rods, and wrought in the prow by the steering wheel." "The cylinder lay horizontal on deck, with connecting-rod from piston-rod to crank on paddle-wheel shaft." 

The Rankine Biography reproduces early correspondence relating to the Symington Steam Carriage.

[1] Falkirk Herald Saturday 30 January 1869 page 3

[2] SRO BR/FCN/1/27 page 159 Minutes of Meeting of the Board of Governors at London on 5 June 1800, attended by Lord Dundas, Sir Archibald Edmonstone and Simon Fraser Esq.

[3] Reported in Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Scotland), Saturday, June 27, 1801; Issue 12448 page 3, column D and other newspapers

PLATES

NOTES ON THE AUTHOR, JOHN RANKINE 1812-1870

In 1811, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the then impecunious William Symington, married Falkirk property owner John Rankine (1790-1848). Their eldest son, John, was born at Falkirk on 8th October 1812. [1]  He married Mary Andrews on 1 May 1836 [2] (born in Essex London c. 1810, her father being Daniel Andrews, a wheelwright; her mother's maiden surname was Challis). They had two sons, William Henry and James Anderson Rankine. John Rankine died at High Pleasance, Falkirk, on 21st November 1870. [3]  

A colourful character, John Rankine was an engineer and inventor and a proprietor of houses. He would become known as John Rankine of High Pleasance. In 1833 he invented a machine for making candles which was widely reported in the press. From the Falkirk Archives, he spent time in England as an engineer with the Eastern Counties Railway Company. In 1836 he had been engaging men for a steam engine manufactory in London when he was attacked in the High Street by three men. Several teeth were knocked out in the assault and they stole his hat and stock but failed to take his watch.[4]  By 1840 he was back in Falkirk and was soon in severe financial trouble. He had no work other than managing his properties and was a heavy drinker.

He led a dissolute life. He  was accused of "improper intercourse" with a butcher's wife; [5] his personal problems included a Breach of the Peace conviction which resulted in his imprisonment and a Defamation action. [6]

By 1859 he was bankrupt [7] but his fortunes improved when he inherited properties on the death of his father.  

His uncle, George Rankine, died suddenly in 1850, pre-deceased by George's brother Charles, a Glasgow lawyer, and survived by the other brother Dr. Robert Rankine, [8] a beneficiary of George's estate. John Rankine challenged George's will and Counsel's opinion made it clear that his English will was deficient in form to convey Scottish heritage to Robert and therefore John inherited as the eldest brother.  

Despite his failings he produced the biography of his grandfather and built an acclaimed model of the Charlotte Dundas in 1862. In publishing this Biography, his intention was to raise funds to erect a memorial to William Symington.

He was buried in the Falkirk Parish Churchyard on 27th November 1870. Buried in the same plot were his grandfather John Rankine, merchant in Falkirk, on 9th December 1807 aged 47, and his grandmother Janet Thomson, 1st October 1814 aged 51. His wife Mary Andrews was buried there on 26th November 1882 aged 72 and also their younger son James Anderson Rankine, on 2nd July 1871, aged 30. [9]

[1] GROS OPR Falkirk 479/50 page 496

[2] Rankine Family Register

[3]  Death notice Falkirk Herald 24 November 1870 page 5

[4] The Scotsman 13 August 1836 page 3

[5] Falkirk Archive reference A818.010

[6] Falkirk Archives Russel & Aitken Papers; Papers of the Rankine family, 1722-1922;  Paisley Herald 28 May 1859 page 7 (re imprisonment at Stirling)

[7] The Scotsman 26 June 1858 page 3; Fife Herald 1 July 1858 page 4 

[8] Obituary Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette 21 May 1875 Page 2

[9] Mitchell, John Fowler & Sheila, East Stirlingshire Monumental Inscriptions pre 1855 1972

CENSUS RECORDS

1841 ENGLAND CENSUS 

Borough of Tower Hamlets, Parish of All Saints Poplar 

Caledonia Cottage, Kirby Street North

Occupation engineer

W. H. age 4, Jas. Andn. aged 4 months

1851 SCOTLAND CENSUS 479/00 002/00 019

Parish of Falkirk Grahamston

John Rankine 38 Proprietor of Houses Born in Falkirk

Mary Rankine 40 Wife Born in England

William H. Scholar 14

James A. 10

Margaret Marshall 15 Servant

1861 SCOTLAND CENSUS 479/01 005/00 027

Parish of Falkirk High Pleasance

Household Number 157 

John Rankine 48 Engineer

Mary 50 born Essex

Elizabeth Jeffrey 16 Visitor (niece)

I believe this to be a portrait of John Rankine. This painting was donated to the Melbourne Museum by a Rankine descendant in the mistaken belief that the subject was William Symington and is now held in storage.

The portrait had been passed down the line of the family of John Rankine's surviving son, William Henry Rankine. 

William Symington had died in poverty in 1831 at the age of 68 years. The style of dress relates to a later generation. Accepting that this portrait has always been in the Rankine family, the individual depicted is, in all probability, a Rankine. There are two prime candidates to be considered: William Symington's son in law, John Rankine (1790-1848) and his grandson John Rankine (1812-1870).

The key to the identity of the subject of the portrait is the period when the portrait was painted, which is best estimated by the costume.  The distinctive features of his dress are the extravagant brightly coloured cravat which is broad and loosely tied, the jacket with broad lapels, gold watch chain, and the checked trousers which came into fashion in the 1850s.  These features suggest the portrait belongs to the 1840s or 1850s. The portrait was probably made in the early 1850s. A conservative approximation of the age of the subject would be a range from the late thirties to the early fifties. 

John Rankine, the son in law of William Symington, was known as John Rankine of Barns. [1] He was a turner by trade but he accumulated considerable wealth as a land owner and proprietor of houses in Falkirk. His properties included Rankine Hall, also known as Rankine's folly, an entertainment hall opposite the Pleasance Garden in the centre of Falkirk. He died in 1848 aged 58 years.

His eldest son, John Rankine (1812-1870), is the other potential candidate. Known as John Rankine of High Pleasance, he was the author of  the Biography of William Symington, published in 1862. He had two sons, William Henry Rankine (1837-1912) and James Anderson Rankine (1841-1871). Daguerreotype portraits of William and James confirm that neither was the person in the portrait and, furthermore, the subject was from an earlier generation. [2]

John Rankine senior was in his fifties in the 1840s and died in 1848. In all probability, by a process of exclusion, John Rankine of High Pleasance of Falkirk was the individual in the portrait. 

[1] Caledonian Mercury Monday 17 June 1811 Issue 13963

[2] Personal collection

WILLIAM HENRY RANKINE 1837-1912

W. H. Rankine is listed as a co-author, but John Rankine was the principal author of the Symington Biography which was published in 1862. William Henry Rankine was born in London in 1837. His contribution to the Biography is unclear. He was a young man when the Biography was in preparation and he had departed Falkirk by 1861. He worked as a marine mechanic and was employed at the Chatham naval dockyards in the fitting and repair of naval vessels and did not return to Falkirk until the early 1890's. [1] [2]

[1] Falkirk Herald 11 September 1907 page 5

[2] Obituary Falkirk Herald 27 November 1912