I just published an article about this person. He is an American of Scots descent and had a great love of Robert Burns poetry. He also produced a lot of his own poetry in the same style as Robert Burns and defended the Scots language in America.
You can read about him at http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/rankin.htm
Alastair
You can read about him at http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/rankin.htm
Alastair