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This biography was part auto-generated by a GEDCOM import of a tree created by Alan Runciman, a 6th generation grand-nephew of Hugh’s, supplemented with additional research by him.
There is no evidence found of Hugh being an existing choice of forename in the Runciman line. If tradition was followed, as 2nd son he should be named after his maternal grandfather, but this is not the case. Perhaps Hugh is named after one of the witnesses to his baptism, Hugh Brounfield (spelling variants of the family name across local parish records). Brounfield witnessed several of the family's baptisms, and others too throughout the parish. Brounfield was the (tenant) farmer at Auldham so he was an important figure to the wellbeing of the family.
Whaupknow was a cluster of cottages provided by Auldham Farm for its workers. The last reference to it in local parish records appears in the 1770s around which time it fell victim to the development of Seacliff House. Read here what life was like for the family at Whaupknow.
No records or references to Hugh have been found following his baptism. It wasn’t usual for burials/deaths to be recorded by the church. Several options can account for an absence of other records after baptism:
The index of the marriage register at Tyninghame on Scotland's People reveals that there is indeed a gap in the register from 1739 onwards until that church ceased in 1760. This period covers the most likely range for Hugh, b 1730, to marry so such a loss is a possibility. However it would further require there to be no children of the marriage after 1761 when records at Whitekirk commence again.
At the time of writing (October 2020) church records after baptism for a number of Richard's & Jennet's children have not been found either. This indicates that some explanations put forward above can probably be discounted, such as emigration or Scottish relocation. The possibility of an absence of church records needs more research to determine whether any of the other siblings appear as contenders as parents themselves after the records resume at Whitekirk, or at other adjoining parishes.
At this stage unfortunately the most likely explanation is that there was a number of infant/child deaths in the family. The siblings for whom no records have yet been found after their baptism are -
Another peripheral factor ties in with this conclusion. On elder brother William’s drowning his orphaned children were then cared for by Richard, the childrens’ grandfather. Richard was 64 in that year & doesn’t appear the most likely candidate to take on the care of 4 young children aged from 9 to 2, particularly if he’s still working. His wife Jennet is not mentioned in the records of the Widows Fund, so no conclusion can be drawn about her. If any of these 5 uncles & aunts listed above were alive they would be aged in their 20s or 30s & would present a better option for care. Is premature death the reason not one stepped forward?
No record of burial has been found. With no records seen of a marriage or as a parent, as hypothesised in the foregoing section it's possible Hugh died as a child.
Hugh was a younger brother of William Runciman of Crail , who drowned at an early age in a fishing tragedy,
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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.
Wiki profiles relating to the Crail Lineage:
Whaupknow, describes where the family was born and lived until adulthood.
Runciman Lineage 1b-The Early Generations As the name implies this Profile covers the latest research known of the earliest ancestors on Hugh’s 'Crail' Line.
Crail Fishing Disaster History and Latest News. Hugh is a brother 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.
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 our 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 to meet his early death from drowning.
You are welcome to contribute to this text. It would be appreciated if first you message a Profile Manager about the proposed additions or changes. Thank you!
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Featured National Park champion connections: Hugh is 20 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 24 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 18 degrees from George Catlin, 21 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 29 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 21 degrees from George Grinnell, 29 degrees from Anton Kröller, 21 degrees from Stephen Mather, 19 degrees from Kara McKean, 22 degrees from John Muir, 20 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 30 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.