Alexander Runciman (1803 - 1875)

Born 1803 in North Berwick, Haddingtonshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Thomson) Runciman — married 11 Jun 1829 in Edinburgh, , Midlothian, Scotland

Descendants

Died 17 Sep 1875 at about age 72 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Alan Runciman [send private message], Rob Westlands [send private message], and Roslyn Runciman [send private message]

Biography

Alexander’s biography, partly auto-generated by a GEDCOM import, was supplemented by Alan Runciman Jr, a 2xGreat-Grandson of Alexander. Born in North Berwick, Alexander moved to Edinburgh in his early working years where he met & married his wife Jane. A few years later the couple moved across to Glasgow where they remained. They had 9 children.

Name

Name: Alexander Runciman

^[1]

Birth

Date: 17 April 1803 ^[2]. The entry states:

24th [April 1803, from earlier page headings] [stated in the margin]: “Runciman” ‘John Runciman Jnr Labr. & Jean Barrie his wife had a son born 17th Inst & baptd the above date in presence of the Congn. Alexander’

Place: North Berwick, Haddingtonshire, Scotland. The precise location was not recorded so it remains unknown whether John, Jean & family were living in town or an outlying cottage. John’s description as a labourer indicates he does not have some rights to land, as a tenant or cotter would have had. These land-occupational lifestyles had been decimated in the 2nd half of the 1700s and by Alexander’s birth in 1803 they had all but disappeared.

John Jnr?

That John should be described as ‘Jnr’ when his father’s name is William (and is deceased) comes as a surprise. Perhaps this terminology differs from that era to our present day usage which applies to differentiate between father & son or at least between two people of identical names living at the same address. The cause & significance of describing John this way is more appropriately expanded on John’s Personal Profile here but not yet implemented.

Baptism

Date: 24 APR 1803

Place: North Berwick, Haddingtonshire, Scotland^[3][4]

Alexander was baptised on the same day he was born, a custom followed by many parents particularly if baby was considered at risk, though there’s no reason to conclude this was the case. Alexander was christened ‘in the presence of the Congn’ [congregation], implying it was performed at a regular church service but conversely no conclusion on good health may be drawn as by coincidence his birth may have occurred on a day of regular service . Baptism records of 2 of Alexander’s siblings reveal brother John was baptised on a date after birth and sister Elizabeth was baptised on the day of her birth. Records of other siblings have not been viewed.

Marriage

Date: 11 JUN 1829

Place: Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland^[5][6]

Alexander & Jane had their banns read in Edinburgh’s St Cuthbert’s Parish Church and were married by Rev James Turnbull who was not the minister there but of the Relief Congregation in Brighton Street. One wonders if this was a sign of early property issues the Brighton Street congregation was later to experience.^[7]. (This appears to have been normal practice at the time as the minister himself was married just the previous year with similar wording in the St Cuthbert parish records.)

This reveals an insight into their strong views over the Authorised Church, which during the early years of their marriage went through a turbulent period culminating in the Disruption.

The Relief Church had broken away from the Church of Scotland as long ago as 1761 & finally merged to form the United Presbyterian Church in 1847. The couple's membership outside the Authorised Church affected research on their family’s baptisms. Their first 3 children were baptised in the Martyrs Reformed Presbyterian Church in Edinburgh, whose records survive and are available online. However between the 3rd and 4th children (the couple had 9 in all) the family moved to Glasgow and baptism records have not yet been found for the remaining family. Their places of birth and approximate ages are known only from census records.

Husband: Alexander Runciman

Wife: Jane Thomson

Child: John Cormack Runciman

Child: Alexander Runciman

Child: William Runciman

Child: Jane Barrie Runciman

Child: William Runciman

Child: John Runciman

Child: James Runciman

Child: Charles Runciman

Child: Louis Thomson Runciman

Working Life

Alexander lived during a time of enormous change. Before his birth Scotland was already developing from a largely rural economy to an industrial framework. Emigration from country to town and from Scotland to the New World occurred at a greater pace in Scotland than in any other country in Europe including England^[8]. Although the Highland Clearances are more widely known & generally thought of as the prime cause even more people movement was created by the transformation in working practices throughout the rich arable farming areas of the Scottish Lowlands (the ‘Agricultural Revolution’). The area of Haddingtonshire (East Lothians) was in a prime position both geographically and technically to benefit from that progress and to experience the human impact that such changes bring. The East Lothians was an area in the forefront of improved farming methods (resulting in reduced demand for agricultural labour) and as the 1800s progressed had Edinburgh on its doorstep offering attractive employment alternatives. So, like many of his generation, Alexander was the first in his family line to seek his living from paid employment outside the farm sector. The first known written reference to Alexander’s occupation is on his marriage at which he declared he was a wright. By this time he’d moved from rural North Berwick to the better paying industrial opportunities offered by Edinburgh.

Date: 1829 (date of marriage)

Place: Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland^[9]

Occupation: Wright

Sometime between then and 1841 (census) Alexander chose to become an engineer and followed that path thereafter. By 1851 he was specialising in marine engineering. It seems he continued working until at least 1871:

Date: JAN 1871

Place:  ?, Lanarkshire, Scotland^[10]

Occupation: Marine Engineer (Steamship)

^[11][12][13]

Census data

Census:

Date: 1841

Place: Renfield, , Lanarkshire, Scotland

Note: RUNCIMAN: Alex 35 engineer b SCT; Jean 30 b LKS; Alex 10, Jane 6, Willm 4 all b SCT; Jas 1 b LKS^[14]

Census:

Date: 1851

Place: Anderston, Barony, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Residing at 69 Clyde Street. Overlooking the river Clyde, this would be a perfect location for a steamboat engineer!

Note: RENSIMAN (Anc) RUNSIMAN (FMP): Alex 47 steam boat engineer b Berwick, HAD; wife Jane 44 b Blackwood, LKS; Children: William 14 app. stationer, Jane 16, dress maker, both b Berwick, HAD; James 10 (18 on anc) scholar b Glasgow; Charles 8, Lewis 5, both scholars b Glasgow^[15]

Census:

Date: 1861

Alexander’s family appear on the census in the Parish of Barony at 98 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow. Interestingly there are two additional non-immediate family. One is a grand-niece on the Thomson side, Jane Williamson, a scholar. Born in Crawfordjohn, presumably she is living with her great-aunt in Glasgow to see her through her school years. It is interesting that the Thomson family value the education of a daughter so highly that they are prepared to send her to Glasgow for the advantage a city education in an age long before it became accepted practice to place weight on a girl’s education. The other visitor is a Helen Duncan, born Edinburgh; this offers the possibility of a connection of family interest more appropriate in Jane’s Profile. Alexander was not at home and is recorded as being on the 690 Ton Paddle Steamer ‘Leopard’ engaged on the Glasgow-Liverpool route & on the date of the census it was docked at Liverpool. Aged 57, he is the first engineer; there is also a 2nd engineer on board. The Leopard was a modern ship, only built on the Clyde in 1857 (launched 1858) and carried cargo & passengers. According to the census there was a crew of 34 on board which in addition to the 1st & 2nd engineers included 13 firemen so Alexander’s engines required considerable effort to keep stoked. There was also a team of 6 stewards (inc 1 stewardess) and 2 cooks. However Leopard had an extremely short history as in 1862 she was sold to a company as a Blockade Runner in the American Civil War. On the change of ownership she was renamed ‘Stonewall Jackson’ & registered in the Bahamas. She made 8 voyages before running aground off Charleston (the planned destination) and was set on fire by the crew to avoid capture after an engagement with USS VARUNA. Officially noted as burned on 12 April 1863. Leopard’s details & history

Census:

Date: 1871

Place: Glasgow Barony, Dist of Anderston, Lanarkshire, Scotland in a house consisting of two rooms with windows at 509 St Vincent Street. The only child still living with parents is 25-year-old Louis who marries in 1875, ironically only 3 months before his father dies in the September, although by then the family had again moved house to New City Road.

Note: The census record states Alex is an ‘engineer in steamer’. The Ancestry transcription is replicated here: RUNCIMAN: Alex 67 engineer in "straman" b N Berwick, HAD; wife Jane 64 b Lesmahagow, LKS (transcribed as James, wife); Son Louis 25 bookseller b Glasgow^[16]

Alexander died between the censuses of 1871 and 1881.

Death

Date: 17 SEP 1875

Place: Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Alexander died in his home at 459 New City Road. One of his sons, Louis, registered his father’s death.

Note: aged 72, at 2am of paralysis of 2 yrs duration; "sometime engineer", married to Jane THOMSON, s/o John RUNCIMAN, market gardener, and Jeanie m.s. BARRIE, both dec.. Inf. son L T RUNCIMAN, son, present^[17][18]

Ancestors of Interest

Personal Profiles

Alexander married Jane Thomson descended from John Potter, a Hanged Covenanter, captured in Ayrshire and taken to Edinburgh to be hanged

and

William Runciman of Crail , who drowned at an early age in a fishing tragedy,

plus

some facts and comments about the early Runciman ancestors are summarised in The Early Generations.

There are also 3 other Runciman 'lineages' which thanks to DNA testing are now discovered to be branches of the same lineage with a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) in the 1600s, most likely in East Lothian or the Scottish Borders. Lorna Henderson manages a Runciman One Name Study which gives a good insight to our Crail Line's relationship to the other DNA-related lines - as well as the non-related lines.

Associated Ancestral Topics

Runciman Lineage 1b-The Early Generations As the name implies this Profile covers the latest research known of the earliest ancestors on my 'Crail' Line.

Crail Fishing Disaster Alexander is a descendant of William of Crail who drowned with 7 others in the 1765 Crail Fishing Disaster. A 250th anniversary commemoration for the drownings was held in Crail on 16 May 2015. This profile records the known research.

Scotland and Beyond In 2004 a history of the William Runciman of Crail line was published. The latest research & continuing updates are now published on the web rather than in print. As Scotland and Beyond has been out of print for some time Jen Jelley & Diane Middleton, compilers & publishers of the 2004 book, kindly agreed to make their publication available in PDF format. This Profile contains the link.

The Runciman Cradle Tour provides the reader interested in seeing some of Alexander’s early ancestral locations with a suggested itinerary and their association to the family.

Similarily there is a Crail Trail for those who wish to visit where William of Crail spent his married/working life and eventually met his early death from drowning.

Sources

• Source: S1597 Title: FamilySearch Labs Record Search (LDS), Url: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/ Abbreviation: FamilySearch Labs Record Search (LDS)
• Source: S201 Title: 1841 Census for Scotland, Record Type: Census transcripts, Location: Scotland, Record Info: via Ancestry.com Abbreviation: Census: 1841 SCT via Ancestry Publication: 1841 Repository: #R121
• Repository: R121 Name: Ancestry.com Address: Country: USA
• Source: S203 Title: 1851 Census for Scotland, Record Type: Census transcripts, Location: Scotland, Record Info: via Ancestry.com Abbreviation: Census: 1851 SCT via Ancestry Publication: 1851 Repository: #R121
• Source: S207 Title: 1871 Census for Scotland, Record Type: Census transcripts, Location: Scotland, Record Info: via Ancestry.com Abbreviation: Census: 1871 SCT via Ancestry Publication: 1871 Repository: #R121
• Source: S3222 Title: "Scotland and Beyond" (2004) plus subsequent research by Alan RUNCIMAN, Ros RUNCIMAN, Lawrence FLETCHER, Lorna HENDERSON & many, many others, Compiler Address: UK, Australia and New Zealand Abbreviation: "Scotland and Beyond" (2004), plus subsequent research Author: Diane Middleton Jen Jelley Alan Runciman Ros Runciman Laurie Fletcher Lorna Henderson and many others Publication: Jul 2013 Note: imported on 2013/07/24 at 15:44:27.
• Source: S3225 Title: Death Registration Abbreviation: Death Registration
• Source: S3233 Title: Old Parish Record Abbreviation: OPR
• Source: S3234 Title: Marriage Registration Abbreviation: Marriage Registration
• Source: S56 Title: Scottish Birth, Marriage, Death entries (from 1855), Record Type: Scottish BMDB entries (from 1855), File Number: http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php Abbreviation: BDM: Scotlands People certs from 1855

Note: (Eliz. Archer has born 17 Apr 1803 North Berwick ELN)^[19]

1. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Baptism 24 Apr 1803 (North Berwick) Dth 17 Sep 1875 (Glasgow) Alexander s/o John & Jean (BARRIE) RUNCIMAN; Marr. Jean THOMSON (b. 12 May 1806 Lesmahagow), Pg 4
2. ↑ Source: #S56 Scotland’s People OPR Births 713/0040 00 0163
3. ↑ Source: #S3233 Page: Bap. 24 Apr 1803 Alexander RUNCIMAN, North Berwick, ELN, SCT - 713/00 0040 0245
4. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 24 Apr 1803 (North Berwick) Dth 17 Sep 1875 (Glasgow) Alexander s/o John & Jean (BARRIE) RUNCIMAN; Marr. Jean THOMSON (b. 12 May 1806 Lesmahagow), Pg 4
5. ↑ Source: #S56 Page: Marr. 11 Jun 1829 Alexander RUNCIMAN & Jean s/o John THOMSON, Edinburgh St Cuthberts, MLN, from Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910 batch M11989-6 film 1066764, extracted Jan 2012
6. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 24 Apr 1803 (North Berwick) Dth 17 Sep 1875 (Glasgow) Alexander s/o John & Jean (BARRIE) RUNCIMAN; Marr. Jean THOMSON (b. 12 May 1806 Lesmahagow); Pg 4
7. ↑ Extract from http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/browseDetails.aspx?reference=CH3/432&st=1&tc=y&tl=n&tn=n&tp=n&k=bridge+street+united+presbyterian&ko=a&r=&ro=s&df=&dt=&di=y ‘The congregation of Edinburgh Arthur Street Relief first began in 1825 when a large number of people left Edinburgh Cowgate Chapel and formed into a Relief congregation. Meetings of the group initially took place in the Caledonian Theatre until January 1827 when a new church was opened in Brighton Street, additionally in that year James Turnbull, the first minister of the congregation, was ordained. The feu duty and bond interest on the Brighton Street Church soon proved to be too high and consequently the congregation moved to new premises in Arthur Street. In 1841, it had become apparent that Arthur Street Relief Church was facing serious financial difficulties in connection with the church building, and the decision was taken to dissolve the congregation and depose the minister. The congregation however left the Arthur Street premises to worship for a time in the Waterloo Rooms and the Freemason's Hall and instead of dissolution, a union was established in 1842 with the congregation of Roxburgh Terrace. The newly united charge successfully secured a three year lease on the Arthur Street Church and consequently the united charge continued under the name of Arthur Street Relief. In 1847 Arthur Street Relief Church became Arthur Street United Presbyterian Church.’
8. ↑ T.M. Devine ‘The Scottish Clearances - A History of the Dispossessed’
9. ↑ Source: #S3222
10. ↑ Source: #S56 Page: Marr. 1871 James RUNCIMAN and Mary THOMSON, Edinburgh Dist 685/1 pg 9, copy d/loaded Dec 2005
11. ↑ Source: #S3225 Page: per son James Death Registration in 1905 - 644/09 1328
12. ↑ Source: #S3234 Page: Dundee - 282/01 0093 CONT 1870 The additional description re 'steamship' is recorded on son Charles 1870 marriage registration.
13. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 24 Apr 1803 (North Berwick) Dth 17 Sep 1875 (Glasgow) Alexander s/o John & Jean (BARRIE) RUNCIMAN; Marr. Jean THOMSON (b. 12 May 1806 Lesmahagow), Pg 4
14. ↑ Source: #S201 Page: Renfield, LKS Par. 622 ED 11 hsehold Alex & Jean RUNCIMAN (indexed on ancestry as Rusmierl or Remsmierl), extracted Jan 2008. NOTE: Original census indexed entry on Scotland’s People currently not found (19Oct2019).
15. ↑ Source: #S203 Page: Barony, LKS Par 622 ED 5A pg 2 Sched 10, hsehold of Alex and Jane RENSIMAN (ancestry transcription), extracted Jan 2008
16. ↑ Source: #S207 Page: Glasgow Barony, Dist Anderston, LKS Reg 644/8 ED 14 Pg 25 Sched 136, hsehold of Alex and Jane RUNCIMAN, extracted Jan 2008
17. ↑ Source: #S56 Page: Dth 1875 Alexander RUNCIMAN, Glasgow Dist 644/9 pg 226, copy d/loaded Dec 2005
18. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 24 Apr 1803 (North Berwick) Dth 17 Sep 1875 (Glasgow) Alexander s/o John & Jean (BARRIE) RUNCIMAN; Marr. Jean THOMSON (b. 12 May 1806 Lesmahagow), Pg 4
19. ↑ Source: #S56 Page: Dth 1875 Alexander RUNCIMAN, Glasgow Dist 644/9 pg 226, copy d/loaded Dec 2005

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Alan Runciman for creating WikiTree profile Runciman-526 through the import of RUNCIMANAlansPaternal4WikiTreeAug2013.ged on Aug 29, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Alan and others.