John Runciman (1762 - 1852)

Born 22 Jun 1762 in Crail, Fife, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Jeanie (Barrie) Runciman — married 18 Oct 1787 in North Berwick, , East Lothian, Scotland

Descendants

Died 12 Dec 1852 at age 90 in Dirleton, Haddingtonshire, Scotland

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

Biography

Much of this biography has been auto-generated from a GEDcom file but has been added to from personal research notes of Alan Runciman, a 3rd gt-grandson.

Name

Name: John /Runciman/ ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Birth

Birth:

Date: 22 JUN 1762

Place: Crail, , Fife, Scotland

Note: (OGF has 23rd Jun but that's bap)^[8][9][10]

Baptism:

Date: 23 JUN 1762

Place: Crail, , Fife, Scotland^[11]

John's baptism recorded in the Old Parish Record.

Christening

Christening:

Date: 23 JUN 1762

Place: Crail, , Fife, Scotland

Note: entry for 23rd Jun reads: William Runsyman and his spouse Elizabeth Jamieson had their son John (b 22d) baptized Witnesses William James & John Mitchell^[12]

Event

Event:

Type: Note

Date: 21 JAN 1765

Note: John's mother had died in 1763 and his father in 1765 making orphans of John and his sisters. The 3 youngest, including John, were taken into the care of their grandfather Richard in North Berwick. ^[13][14]

Event:

Type: WebLink

Date: 1853

Note: John_Runciman_(30)^[15]

Event:

Type: Note

Note: Crail Weavers: 'John, son of deceased William Runciman, mariner in Crail, bound apprentice to John Jamieson, late deacon, 14 June 1780

It's likely that John Jamieson is closely related to young John Runciman bearing in mind Jamieson is his mother's maiden name. This indicates that John returned to Crail at some point, possibly around the age of 14, to take up this apprenticeship. His ties with North Berwick presumably remained strong (all his Runciman family would have been there or in its surrounds) as he marries Jean Barrie there and chooses Dirleton in East Lothian for the family home.

Census

Census:

Date: 1851

Place: , Par. of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland

Note: RUNCIMAN: John 90 annuitant (fmp) (assistant on ancestry) (formerly ag lab and carrier) b Crail, FIF; Son James 61, ag lab b N Berwick, Haddington; Dtr in law Ann 59 b Prestonkirk, Haddington^[16]

Occupation

Occupation: Agricultural Labourer & Carrier^[17][18]

Marriage

Husband: John Runciman

Wife: Jeanie Barrie

Child: William Runciman

Child: James Runciman

Child: Charles Runciman

Child: John Runciman

Child: Elizabeth Runciman

Child: Richard Runciman

Child: Alexander Runciman

Child: Isabel Runciman

Child: Katherine Runciman

Child: Jean Runciman

Marriage:

Date: 18 OCT 1787

Place: North Berwick, , East Lothian, Scotland^{[19][20][21][22]}

Census:

Date: 1841

Place: Dirleton, , East Lothian, Scotland

Note: RUNCIMAN: John 76 "ind"; Jean 72 , both b ELN (sic)^[23]

Husband: William Runciman

Wife: Elizabeth Jamieson

Child: Margaret Runsyman

Child: Elizabeth Runsyman

Child: Helen Runsyman

Child: John Runciman

Marriage:

Date: 30 DEC 1754

Place: Crail, , Fife, Scotland

Note: "Contracts" entry for Dec 14th reads: "William Runsyman & Eliz. Jamison married Decr 30th"^{[24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Observations on John's Life

John Runciman (1762-1852) is commonly referred to by researchers as ‘Orphan John’ as his mother died when he was about 7 months old and his father drowned when he was 2-and-a-half years old. Along with the two other youngest siblings they were collected on the day of their father’s drowning by his grandfather Richard and taken away from their fisherman’s cottage in Crail to live with Richard. It’s not been determined whether Richard’s wife Janet Gourlay was still alive at this point. Richard was 63, probably a farm labourer who was living at Castleton, a farm just outside North Berwick on the road to Auldhame, also a farm and onwards to the villages of Whitekirk and then, about a mile further on, Tynninghame. Only a mile beyond Tynninghame lay the Great North Road linking the two capital cities, London and Edinburgh. Depending on weather – and so the level of rutting etc on the roads – a coach and horses could take up to 18 days to complete that journey. By comparison trains are now timetabled to make the journey in between 4-5 hours.

We can only speculate at what the family unit might have been in John’s young days. Although we cannot say whether his grandmother Jannet (Gourley) was still alive when the orphans arrived at Castleton it’s a reasonable assumption that there would have been at least one female family member running the household while Richard worked probably all daylight hours at least 6 days per week, with possibly lighter duties on a Sunday to enable church attendance. At that time the church at Whitekirk was probably closest and certainly the most natural as it had absorbed the ‘parishers’ from Tyninghame on the demolition of their village church in 1761. Tyninghame had been the grandparents’ family church for at least the first 20 years of their marriage whilst living at Whaup Knowe.

The most likely female homemaker candidates are the daughters of Richard and Jannet who by this time were all adult. Renay (Rennie) was the youngest, born in 1746, so she would have been 19 at the time of the orphans’ arrival and unmarried. It’s interesting to note that she marries in 1776, the year in which John would have reached school-leaving age and taken a job, perhaps taking him away from home. It also makes her 30 which falls in the older age range for marriage at the time – could this be an indication of family duty coming before personal life? It’s known that John undertook an apprenticeship as a Crail Weaver with John Jamieson. It’s reasonable to assume John J is a member of his mother Elizabeth Jamieson’s family, quite likely Orphan John’s grandfather or perhaps an uncle. This gives us a pointer that he was indeed away from home in his early working years. An entry in the Crail Weavers Minute Book reads : ‘RUNCIMAN, JOHN: son of dec William Runciman, mariner in Crail; bound app to John Jamieson, late Deacon, June 14 1780’. It’s not clear whether this records a commencement or completion of the apprenticeship but certainly John would be of the right age to be completing a normal 4 year apprenticeship in 1780. This record is made one week before his 18th birthday. [The Minute book (which covered the years 1747-1790) was copied onto blank leaves of the 3rd Crail Shoemakers Minute Book (1755-1834), which is now in Crail Museum, by the Rev Mr Reid of Crail in 1895, from the original, then in the possession of the Earl of Lindsay. A later extract of various trades Minute Books was made by Fife Family History Society, from which this extract was taken.]

While the enforced removal from Crail to the surrounds of North Berwick was yet one more upheaval to befall the young children following their parents’ deaths the environment was certainly a wonderful place to spend a childhood. Castleton farm overlooks the Firth of Forth as it enters the North Sea with views stretching across to the Fife shore and the famous & historical Bass Rock in the foreground. Tantallon Castle is a just a child’s stroll away, even then a ruin and no doubt a favoured playground.

John & Jean Barrie married ‘irregularly’ at Haddington in 1787 and had it recorded in the parish church of North Berwick a week later. John is recorded of being ‘in this parish’ while Jean is recorded as ‘in Dirleton’. The page of the North Berwick parish register consists entirely of entries referring to irregular marriages elsewhere. Irregular marriages were a frequent occurrence in Scotland throughout troubled religious times and were described as such by the ‘Authorised’ church ie The Church of Scotland. The most common reason for worship outside the authorised church were disillusioned parishioners opting to worship in the Reformed Presbyterian Church & similar organisations established in the early 1700s following the Covenanters era and in ‘breakaway’ Presbyterian churches of the Reformation in the 1840s. Between these two dates there were always alternatives but the 1780s is not regarded as a particularly fractured time. The couple settled in Dirleton and apparently worshipped in the local parish church as their children were all baptised there.

It’s not known whether John followed his trade as a weaver. Unfortunately there is no record showing his occupation until the first Scottish census record of 1841. By this time John is one year short of his 80th birthday (although he has claimed to be aged 76) and he has reported that he is ‘independent’ which makes for satisfying reading. His wife Jean is the only other occupant. Unfortunately no address other than ‘Dirleton’ is shown by the census taker throughout the village. In the 1851 census his address is recorded as ‘The Bothy’, Dirleton. His son James and his wife live with him although John is shown as the Head of the household. One suspects this is in deference to his age rather than family economics as John was to die in the year following this census at the remarkable age of 90. In the 1841 census James and his wife Margaret are shown further up the census record sheet as living only two households away from John & Jean although there is nothing to indicate whether these are neighbouring houses in a row or in a rural setting. Either way, James is, with one exception, the nearest contact in times of need.

Survival of the Runciman surname on the Crail Lineage :

Orphan John is the essential pivot in the Runciman of Crail lineage. To understand why, we need to look at the 3 generations leading up to John. His great-grandparents were William R & Jean White. Which William this was is not definitively identified. The only credible William, as far as we can tell from parish records, was the only son in the family (there was a daughter also). William & Jean had 6 children, two of whom were sons. Orphan John’s grandfather Richard was one, the other also named William, was a man who joined up in the British Army, serving in the 3rd Regiment of Foot and fighting in the Seven Years War in Canada against the French. Eventually he was pensioned off in 1763 after 30 years’ service, ‘worn out’ to quote the Chelsea Pensioner records, at the end of the Canadian hostilities. There is no evidence in any records of a marriage or children for this William. So it fell solely on Richard to preserve the Runciman surname on the Crail line. Richard & Jannet had 9 children of whom 4 were male, including William of Crail. Three of the boys have not been traced beyond their baptism with only William of Crail’s family history being successfully researched. So it’s very possible that the 3 other boys didn’t make it to adulthood, or if they did there is no sign of marriage or children or, obviously, present-day descendants. This is perhaps an interesting area for fellow Runciman researchers to investigate.

So the 'Runciman survival' baton passed to William of Crail; he had 8 children with 3 mothers. However, only one was male – the 7th child, John. At this stage the line is highly likely to suffer from ‘daughtering out’. However from starting out at the tender age of two-and-a-half as an orphan, John survived to the ripe old age of 90 and had a long marriage to Jean Barrie with whom he had 10 children, 6 of whom were male. The 6 boys all married and had families. All present day descendants on the ‘Crail’ line who carry the Runciman surname are descended through this one pivotal ancestor. The majority of known descendants who carry other surnames through daughtered lines also channel their ancestry through Orphan John. However it has been one of the wider Crail family’s undoubted pleasures to find other descending lines from ‘grandfather’ Richard daughters as well as Orphan John’s daughters.

Death & Burial

John died on 12 December 1852, according to the Parish Record of Dirleton Church at the age of 92 although in fact he was 90 years old. No doubt no-one including John knew the correct age! He was buried 4 days later on the 16th in Dirleton Churchyard. Unfortunately there is no evidence of a grave or stone by the time Gullane & Dirleton History Society wrote their book 'The Stones of Dirleton Kirkyard & its People' in 2006 despite drawing information from two kirkyard plans dated 1880 and 1887. It seems unlikely that a stone from 1852 would not have survived at least as long as the drawing up of these plans. It would be surprising also if lack of money was the problem as there is ample evidence of substantial inscriptions on other family stones around the same years. In total there are 17 Runcimans either buried or at least commemorated with inscriptions in Dirleton Kirkyard. One of John's sons, Richard, emigrated with his family to New Zealand within months of his father's death.

Death:

Date: 12 DEC 1852

Place: Dirleton, , East Lothian, Scotland

Note: entry shows John as aged 92, died 12th bur. 16th^[30][31]

Death:

Date: 13 DEC 1852

Place: Dirleton, , East Lothian, Scotland

Note: aged 90^[32]

Found multiple copies of DEATH DATE. Using 12 DEC 1852Array

Burial:

Date: 16 DEC 1852

Place: Dirleton, , East Lothian, Scotland

Note: Date noted in The Stones of Dirleton Kirkyard, p75^[33]

Reference: 42393

Profiles of Family Interest

John's father William was skipper of the fishing boat which suffered the loss of 8 lives in the Crail Fishing Disaster 1765.

Links to the stories about early ancestors, events & places of interest to the Runciman Crail lineage 1b are comprehensively summarised in one place here.

Alan Runciman, Ayr, Scotland 3rd great grandson

Sources

• Source: S103 Title: OPR East Lothian Scotlands People RUNCIMAN Marriages, Author Address: http://scotlandspeople.gov.uk, Recipient Address: East Lothian, Scotland Abbreviation: OPR East Lothian SctP RUNCIMAN Marriages 1538-1854 Author: Scotlands People Index Publication: 1538-1854 Repository: #R146
• Repository: R146 Name: Scotlands People (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/) Address: City: Edinburgh State: Midlothian Country: Scotland
• Source: S16 Title: RUNCIMAN One Name Study, Author Address: Abbreviation: RUNCIMAN One Name Study Author: Lorna Henderson
• 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: S2520 Title: OneGreatFamily, Url: http://OneGreatFamily.com Abbreviation: OneGreatFamily
• Source: S2562 Title: RUNCIMAN Corres., Address: NSW, AUS Abbreviation: RUNCIMAN Corres.
• 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: S3235 Title: Scotland and Beyond, published 2004 Abbreviation: Scotland and Beyond, published 2004 Author: Jennifer Jelley and Diane Middleton
• Source: S3237 Title: Henderson Web Site, Url: http://runciman.lornahen.com Abbreviation: Henderson Web Site Author: Lorna Henderson Note: MyHeritage.com family tree CONT CONT Family site: Henderson Web Site CONT CONT Family tree: MyHeritageBasic
• Source: S3238 Title: Fletcher Web Site Abbreviation: Fletcher Web Site Author: Lawrence Fletcher Note: MyHeritage.com family tree CONT CONT Family site: Fletcher Web Site CONT Family tree: Fletcher Family Tree
• Source: S3239 Title: Runciman Web Site Abbreviation: Runciman Web Site Author: Kevin Charles Runciman Note: MyHeritage.com family tree CONT CONT Family site: Runciman Web Site CONT CONT Family tree: Runciman Family Tree
• Source: S55 Title: Scottish Birth, Marriage, Burial entries (to 1854), Record Type: Scottish BMDB entries (to 1854), File Number: http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/index.php Abbreviation: BDM: Scotlands People entries to 1854
• 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

1. ↑ Source: #S56 Page: Dth 1875 Alexander RUNCIMAN, Glasgow Dist 644/9 pg 226, copy d/loaded Dec 2005
2. ↑ Source: #S2520 Page: Family of Matthew RUNCIMAN, posted by Wendy Fletcher,, extracted Oct 2007
3. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 23 Jun 1762 (Crail) Dth 13 Dec 1852 (Dirleton, East Lothian) John s/o William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMESON; Marr. 28 Sep 1787 (North Berwick) Jean BARRIE (b. 7 Feb 1767 Dirleton, d. 1847), Pg 3
4. ↑ Source: #S3239 Page: John Runciman CONT 17 NOV 2011 Added by confirming a Smart Match
5. ↑ Source: #S3238 Page: John Runciman CONT 6 JUL 2011 Added by confirming a Smart Match
6. ↑ Source: #S3237 Page: John Runciman CONT 7 JUN 2011 Added by confirming a Smart Match
7. ↑ Source: #S3239 Page: John Runciman CONT 17 NOV 2011 Added by confirming a Smart Match
8. ↑ Source: #S2520 Page: Family of Matthew RUNCIMAN, posted by Wendy Fletcher,, extracted Oct 2007
9. ↑ Source: #S55 Page: Birth 22 Jun Bap. 23rd Jun 1762 John s/o William RUNSYMAN & Elizabeth JAMIESON, Crail, FIF 417/0020 0154, copy d/loaded Jan 2010
10. ↑ Source: #S2562 Page: Birth 22 Jun 1762 John s/o William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMIESON, Crail, FIF, from Outline family tree from William & Catherine (WISHART) RUNCIMAN, and emails, rcvd Jan 2010
11. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 23 Jun 1762 (Crail) Dth 13 Dec 1852 (Dirleton, East Lothian) John s/o William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMESON; Marr. 28 Sep 1787 (North Berwick) Jean BARRIE (b. 7 Feb 1767 Dirleton, d. 1847), Pg 3
12. ↑ Source: #S55 Page: Birth 22 Jun Bap. 23rd Jun 1762 John s/o William RUNSYMAN & Elizabeth JAMIESON, Crail, FIF 417/0020 0154, copy d/loaded Jan 2010
13. ↑ Source: #S3235
14. ↑ Source: #S3222
15. ↑ Source: #S16 Page: Jan 2012
16. ↑ Source: #S203 Page: Dirleton, ELN Par. 705 ED 1 Pg 14 Sched 66, hsehold of John RUNCIMAN, extracted Oct 2007
17. ↑ Source: #S3235
18. ↑ Source: #S3222
19. ↑ Source: #S2520 Page: Marr. 28 Sep 1787 John RUNCIMAN & Jean BARRIE, Nth Berwick, ELN, from Family of Matthew RUNCIMAN, posted by Wendy Fletcher,, extracted Oct 2007
20. ↑ Source: #S56 Page: Dth 1875 Alexander RUNCIMAN, Glasgow Dist 644/9 pg 226, copy d/loaded Dec 2005
21. ↑ Source: #S103 Page: Marr. 18 Oct 1787 John RUNSIMAN & Jean BARRIE, Nth Berwick, ELN 713/ 0040 0280, extracted from index Jan 2012
22. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 23 Jun 1762 (Crail) Dth 13 Dec 1852 (Dirleton, East Lothian) John s/o William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMESON; Marr. 28 Sep 1787 (North Berwick) Jean BARRIE (b. 7 Feb 1767 Dirleton, d. 1847), Pg 3
23. ↑ Source: #S201 Page: Dirleton, ELN Par. 705 ED 1 Pg 8 hsehold of John & Jean RUNCIMAN, extracted Jan 2010
24. ↑ Source: #S2562 Page: Marr. 1754 William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMIESON, from Outline family tree from William & Catherine (WISHART) RUNCIMAN, and emails, rcvd Jan 2010
25. ↑ Source: #S1045 Page: H/stone (& info) William RUNSHEMAN/RUNSYMAN and family, Crail, FIF, from pre 1855 transcriptions, rcvd Jan 2010
26. ↑ Source: #S1596 Page: Marr. 30 Dec 1754 William RUNSHEMAN & Elizabeth JAMESON, Isle of May, Crail, FIF, post 1991 patron submission, extracted Jan 2010
27. ↑ Source: #S55 Page: Marr. 30 Dec 1754 (also indexed for 12 Dec) William RUNSYMAN & Elizabeth JAMIESON, Crail, FIF 417/0020 0084, index searched (and copy d/loaded) Jan 2010
28. ↑ Source: #S3233 Page: Marr. 1754 William RUNCIMAN & ElizabethJAMIESON, Crail-417/00 0020 0084
29. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Marr. 30 Dec 1754 William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMESON, Crail, Fife, Pg 3
30. ↑ Source: #S2520 Page: Family of Matthew RUNCIMAN, posted by Wendy Fletcher,, extracted Oct 2007
31. ↑ Source: #S55 Page: Dth 12th Bur. 16th Dec 1852 John RUNCIMAN, aged 92, Dirleton, ELN 705/00 0040 0290, copy d/loaded Jan 2012
32. ↑ Source: #S3222 Page: Birth 23 Jun 1762 (Crail) Dth 13 Dec 1852 (Dirleton, East Lothian) John s/o William RUNCIMAN & Elizabeth JAMESON; Marr. 28 Sep 1787 (North Berwick) Jean BARRIE (b. 7 Feb 1767 Dirleton, d. 1847), Pg 3
33. ↑ Source: #S3222

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Alan Runciman for creating WikiTree profile Runciman-527 through the import of RUNCIMANAlansPaternal4WikiTreeAug2013.ged on Aug 29, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Alan and others.