David Rankin Barbee (October 15, 1874, in

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metrop ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

—March 7, 1958,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, a public relations writer for the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

administration, and a researcher in

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

, best known for writing on Southern history.David Rankin Barbee: A biographical sketch
/ref> Barbee, known by his middle name Rankin, was descended from a powerful Tennessee political family.

Biography

From 1928 to 1933 Rankin Barbee wrote the column "Profiles" in the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

,'' earning him "a large and loyal audience." He joined the administration of President

as a public relations writer for the

Federal Alcohol Administration The Federal Alcohol Administration was a United States government agency created in 1935 (as part of the Department of the Treasury) by the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, title 27 chapter 8 of the United States Code. It was created to regulat ...

. After his retirement, he became a full-time historic researcher, mostly writing on Southern history and on President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. He published articles in history magazines and books. He was represented by the literary agent

Barthold Fles Barthold "Bart" Fles (February 7, 1902 – December 19, 1989) was a Dutch-American literary agent, author, translator, editor and publisher. Among his many clients were Elias Canetti, Raymond Loewy, Heinrich Mann, Joseph Roth, Felix Salten, Ign ...

. Today his papers are held in the special collections of the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Library.

Family

Rankin Barbee was the son of Dr. James Barbee and Margaret Rankin of

Jasper, Tennessee Jasper is a town in and the county seat of Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. The town was formed in 1820 from lands acquired from Betsy Pack (1770–1851), daughter of Cherokee Chief John Lo ...

. He was the nephew of Tennessee Attorney General George J. Stubblefield and Federal District Judge William R. Rankin. Barbee, Sr., was the Publishing Agent for the

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

Publishing House in the 1890s and pastor of McKendree Methodist Church at the same time. Rankin Barbee's mother and uncle had moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

during the Civil War to be closer to their sister, Mary Anne Rankin, and her husband George Stubblefield. The family's political fortunes were tied to its relationship with then Tennessee Governor and future President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a D ...

. Rankin Barbee's grandfather, David Rankin of Jasper, Tennessee, was born in

Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it is the second oldest town i ...

, and had served in the State legislature with Johnson in the 1830s. In addition, Johnson's maternal grandfather, Andrew McDonough, had married Barbee's great-grandmother, Rhoda Sartain Roberson, in his second marriage. Barbee's family included first cousin Thomas Turley Rankin, who was head attorney for the Home Owners Loan Corporation and the

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Or ...

. Rankin's uncle William Roberson Rankin was a Federal District Judge in Nashville from 1863-1865.

Bibliography

Books

* 1928 - ''An Excursion in Southern History'' * 1930 - ''Washington, City of Mighty Events'' * 1946 - ''Did James F. Shunk Forge the

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meetin ...

Letter? The Answer Is: Definitely No.'' * 1947 - ''The Capture of Jefferson Davis'' * 1951 - ''Lincoln, Chase, and the Rev. Dr. Richard Fuller''

Manuscripts

* ''The Inside Story of

Lamon Lamon is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about west of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,322 and an area of .All demographics ...

's Life of Lincoln'' * ''Lincoln and

Booth Booth may refer to: People * Booth (surname) * Booth (given name) Fictional characters * August Wayne Booth, from the television series ''Once Upon A Time'' *Cliff Booth, a supporting character of the 2019 film ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' ...

'' * ''The Story of Mrs. Robert Greenhow'' (or ''The Nemesis of Abraham Lincoln'')

References

External links

* http://www.firstepoch.com/articles/article05.asp * http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27249165_ITM {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbee, David Rankin 1874 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers American male journalists Journalists from Tennessee Writers from Tennessee The Washington Post journalists People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee 20th-century American male writers