Guy was the 5th born child of 12 born to Charles Rankin and Valora (Tracy) Yerxa. Born 07/20/1893. He was raised in and around Stillwater, Maine.

At the time when Guy started into the adult work force he went into the woolen trades at Old Town Maine. This writer visited the old mill in 1984 and found that the same building is at this time an apartment house. Guy worked with his future father-in-law Melvin Littlefield, who lived a few blocks away.

He courted and married Esta F. Littlefield in 1914. I was told that she was happy to be marrying into a large family as she only had a sister, now she had a new large family. Only a few short years however they started moving, following the woolen trade, each time moving to a bit better job. North Adams, Mass. to Malone N.Y. 1923, on to Alburn N.Y. 1925, then on to Detroit, Mich. in 1928. In 1933 they moved to Eaton Rapids Mich. as boss finisher, at the Horner Woolen Mills. They rented several homes in the town of Eaton Rapids before buying a home on the Grand River about 2 miles north of town, where they stayed until Guy's death in 1957. At that time Esta moved into a small home in town where she lived until her death in 1962.

The first three boys were born while they lived in Old Town, ME. Florence was born in Malone, N.Y. and Melvin was born in Detroit, Mich. all the children graduated from the Eaton Rapids schools.

The oldest, Leroy went into the woolen trade for only a short time but didn't like it. He moved on to a job for Gates Rubber Co. in Chicago as public rel. man. later he started writing short stories and did well in this field. His life was cut short however at the age of 30 yrs. leaving behind 4 children, Kay, Edward, Richard and Carol.

Leroy's few short years living in Detroit did rub off on him though as he lived in Chicago for several years and moved back to Mich. only to get away from the high cost of living. The last two years he lived in Mason Mich. about 12 miles from his parents. He passed away in 1946.

Felton, the second son tried the woolen trade also but didn't like it either. He tried printing for a time, also several other jobs. His marriage failed after several years and 6 children Donald, Jean Ann, Midge Peggy, Karen and Gretchen. At a later date he returned to Detroit Mich. remarried and opened a print shop which he operated until his death in 1977.

Phillip, the 3rd. born, after graduation from high school went into the woolen mills. Finally one of the boys caught onto the trade. He worked his way up to boss finisher when his father was forced out by bad health. Shortly after however the woolen trade started to fail due to the wider use of synthetic materials, and the mill finally folded up. Phil was forced to another trade. After hunting around he purchased a hardware store in the nearby town of Dimondale, where he spent the next 25 plus years. His address remained near the location of his father's. The big city ways didn't rub off on him as it had his two older brothers. Phil was also caught up in WWII where he served in the European Theater. His wife, Mary was from the neighboring town of Charlotte. They married after the war and had three children, John, Phyllis and Arnold.

Florence, the 4th. born and only daughter went into nurses' training (after schooling) at a hospital in Jackson, Mich. where she met her husband Floyd L. Hunter. They married at the out break of WWII and she followed him until he was shipped to the South Pacific.

After the war they settled on the outskirts of Jackson and had four boys, Guy, Larry, Thomas and Robert. Floyd worked at Southern Michigan Prison as a guard until his retirement some 30 years later. Their four boys scattered over the country like leaves in the wind. The youngest, Bob, settled in Gold Beach, Oregon. Floyd and Florence, having visited Oregon several times fell in love with the country. They finally sold out in Michigan and moved to Oregon themselves, where they will probably spend their final years.

Melvin, 5th. born (and writer of this summary) was two years old when the family moved to Eaton Rapids, so I never knew the big city life. After school I entered the woolen mills for a short time. Work went slack so I got a job at Oldsmobile in Lansing, MI. 35 years later I'm still at Olds. I spent two years in the army serving in Korea. My wife Joyce and I were married during the war and when I returned we bought a home near our parents in the area we had been raised. We had two children, Pamela and Steven. Pam is living near Champaign, Ill. And our son is living in Mason, Mich. Both have children of their own.

To this date 10/07/1985 Guy and Esta had 5 children, 19 grandchildren and many many great grandchildren. They did leave their mark.