Runciman of Crail Lineage Links

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: North Berwick, Tynninghame, Whaupknow, Crail
Surname/tag: Runciman

Welcome to the host page for the William Runciman of Crail line (DNA Lineage 1b). There are links to the profiles of people, events and places which played a significant role in the Crail story.

The WikiTree Personal Profiles of all Runciman descendants on the Crail line are in the process of being linked to this page (gradually!). By linking Personal Profiles here they will remain up-to-date each time a new research page is created & added here.

Why ‘William of Crail’?

The lineage was named ‘’William Runciman of Crail’’ before William’s baptism record was discovered (he was in fact baptised at Tynninghame Church in Haddingtonshire) and as the known line stopped at him he became the first identified as ‘patriarch’ of the line. The Crail location of his marriage banns & childrens’ baptism records pointed to him being a Crail (Fife) man, hence the line’s name, despite no evidence of his birth.

The eventual discovery of his baptism record at Tynninghame opened up his line with siblings and lengthened it to his parents and grandparents. Consequently the current known patriarch of the line is now his grandfather, also a William, estimated to be born in the early 1670s. A definitive baptism record has not been found.

The arrival of DNA testing later established that 3 other lines shared Y-DNA with the Crail line; so it is now further identified as ‘Lineage 1b’ for DNA purposes. Although the term ‘lineage’ persists, these 4 lines are in fact branches descending from the same common unknown ancestor (hence all 4 are designated with the line prefix ‘1’). There are other non-DNA related Runciman lineages, prefixed 2, 3 etc.

Wiki profiles relating to the Crail Lineage:

An index is being created linking the profiles of all Runcimans on the Crail Line. The index can be found within the 'Category: Runciman Lineage 1b - William Runciman of Crail' linked below. Many profiles have still to be added. Please can you help by adding this category to an ancestor profile where you notice the category is not already shown on their profile.

Wiki has two Profile types, ‘’’Personal Profiles’’’ for individuals of interest and ‘’’Space Profiles’’’ to record events or places of interest:

Personal Profiles:

For a contribution of historic significance to the lineage -

• patriarch, William Rynsiman, furthest back ancestor on the line. There are at least 11 generations of known descendants.
• our line identifier William of Crail, the ancestor after whom the lineage is named
• Orphan John, ancestor who saved the surname from being lost - ’daughtered out’ - from the Crail line, covered in the section of his bio ‘Observations on John’s Life’.

Events & Places Profiles:

• Runciman Lineage 1b-The Early Generations. Facts and comments describe the current research known of the earliest ancestors on the 'Crail' Line.

• Whaupknow The earliest documented birthplace on the Crail lineage was finally identified in 2018 from William’s baptism record after a few false starts. The Whaupknow Profile provides a comprehensive background to the area where Richard & Jennet Gourlay’s family was born and lived until adulthood.

• Crail Fishing Disaster William of Crail drowned with 7 others in the 1765 Crail Fishing Disaster. A 250th anniversary commemoration for the drownings was held on 16 May 2015. This gives an informative background to both.

• Scotland and Beyond provides information on the first book published on our family lineage, in 2004, by Jen Jelley & Diane Middleton, descendants on the Crail line.

• The Runciman Cradle Tour provides a suggested itinerary with the historical connections to the line for anyone interested in visiting some of our ancestral locations.

• The 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. (Currently this profile is incomplete).

• The Runciman One Name Study which gives a good insight into all the Runciman lineages so far identified including Crail’s other DNA-related lines.

This list is compiled by an 8th generation son of the current patriarch of the line. Comments, queries and further research information are welcome. Contact by email address are displayed on my personal profile Alan Runciman