I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT AS MUCH AS I CAN ABOUT JAMES STERLING RANKIN. HE WAS MY GRANDFATHER HE WAS BORN IN MOBILE AL. IN 1865. HE MOVED TO ARKANSAS WHERE MY FATHER WAS BORN IN HUNTINGTON IN 1892. HE WAS IN THE LOUISIANA VOLUNTEERS BETWEEN 2 MAY 1898 AND APRIL 1899. HE DIED IN DALLAS, TEXAS IN 1931. WHAT I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT IS WHO HIS PARENTS WERE AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM. IF ANY ONE CAN LEAD ME IN THE DIRECTION OF FINDING THIS INFO I WOULD APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. I UNDERSTAND THE ALABAMA CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS BE BEGAN FILING BIRTH CERTIFICATES IN 1908 FOR PEOPLE BORN IN ALABAMA. SO THEY STARTED A LITTLE LATE TO HELP LOCATE MY GREAT GRANDFATHER.