MARY JANE M. FALLWELL was born in November 1845 in Chapel Hill, Marshall County, Tennessee. She married DANIEL WILSON RANKIN on December 31, 1865, in Panola County, Texas. Daniel was born October 28, 1836, in Tennessee.

Mary Jane and Daniel lived near Whitesboro, Texas, according to the 1900 Census, Enumeration District 112, Justice Precinct 6, Grayson County, Texas.

Children of MARY JANE FALLWELL and DANIEL RANKIN are:
1. NANCY E. "Nannie" RANKIN, b. Oct 1866, Texas.
2. ADA M. RANKIN, b. Jun 1870, Texas d. 21 Oct 1889.
3. IDA MANARA RANKIN, b. 18 Nov 1871, Carthage, Panola, Texas; d. 15 Apr 1945.
4. JOHN DELMAR RANKIN, b. 16 Mar 1873, Whitesboro, Grayson, Texas; d. 26 May 1955 Durant, Bryan, Oklahoma.
5. WILLIAM ELMER RANKIN, b. 1876, Texas.
6. OLLIE MAE RANKIN, b. 23 Sep 1877, Texas.
7. ROBERT DANIEL RANKIN, b. 07 Jan 1880, Texas; d. 09 Jan 1959, Comanche County, Oklahoma.
8. OSCAR THOMAS RANKIN, SR., b. 07 April 1884, Texas; d. 09 Nov 1970, Sterling, Comanche, Oklahoma.
9. WALTER VELPO RANKIN, b. 28 Feb 1886, Texas; d. 28 Jun 1948, Colorado City, Mitchell, Texas.
10. EULA BEE RANKIN, b. 06 Sep 1887, Texas; d. Tennessee.
11. Baby Rankin, b. Before 1900 in Texas; d. Before 1900 in Texas

Daniel died on December 31, 1903, in Durant, Indian Territory in what is now Bryan County, Oklahoma. Apparently, Mary Jane died soon after Daniel's death, as she was not listed as an heir in Daniel's probate records that began in December 14, 1905. Only the names of their living children were in the probate records. Since Mary Jane was deceased at the time of probate, her death most likely prompted that probate so all of the children could get their equal share of their parent's estate.

According to Daniel's obituary, the family moved to Durant, Indian Territory from near Whitesboro, Texas, two years prior to his death. They sold 210 acres of land to Mr. F. G. Jamison on November 18, 1901, for $2,930. This land was located just North of Sadler, Texas, near Whitesboro, which is about where their homeplace was located. This is most likely about the time they moved to Oklahoma Indian Territory.

Oklahoma individual land ownership began in 1902 in the Indian Territory with the allotment of lands by the Dawes Commission. Prior to that time, land in the Indian Territory was communal property and belonged to the respective Indian nation in which an individual lived. The area where the Rankin family moved to in about 1902 was in Durant Indian Territory from land that belonged to the Choctaw Nation. Besides being known as a farmer, Daniel bought and sold many pieces of land in Texas and Indian Territory before his death making him a sizable profit. Today we would call him a real estate investor.

It is recorded that the Mary Rankin bought Lot #319 in the Highland Cemetery in Durant, Oklahoma, in 1903-1904. Daniel & Mary Jane's son, John Delmer Rankin, and many of his descendants are buried in this lot. According to the Bryan County Heritage Center, records for the cemetery were burned in a fire caused by a disgruntled employee in 1977 and the only records available are the lot sales records kept at the City of Durant. This cemetery dates back to 1898. There are four unmarked graves in Lot #319 in the Highland Cemetery. Buried in these graves are one man, two women, and a small child. It is believed that the man is Daniel Wilson Rankin, and the two women are Mary Jane and her daughter, Nancy. It is not known at this time who the baby's grave might be. This lot has spaces for 14 graves, 10 of which are marked with headstones.

~ The above information compiled by Mary Ellen (Fallwell) Henderson who is a great niece of Mary Jane (Fallwell) Rankin. Mary Jane is a sister to my grandfather, Leander Franklin Fallwell.