Renay Runciman (1746 - 1823)

Born 17 Dec 1746 in Whaupknow, Tynninghame, Haddingtonshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Wife of David Mason — married 14 Jun 1776 in North Berwick, Haddingtonshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 25 Jul 1823 at age 76 in Dunbar, Haddingtonshire, Scotland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Alan Runciman [send private message]

Biography

This biography was part auto-generated by a GEDCOM import of a tree created by Alan Runciman, a 4th grand-nephew of Rennie, supplemented with additional research by Alan.

Name

Name: Renay /Runciman/ ^[1]

The most likely explanation for the unusual choice for her forename is out of respect for & recognition to her parents’ landlord & employer George Rennie, the (tenant) farmer at Auldham. The farm had changed tenancy a couple of years previously on the death of Hugh Brounfield (possibly the source for the name of Rennie’s older brother Hugh). Hugh Brounfield left no heirs and the right to tenancy passed to his sister, which in those days of male-dominated inheritance, meant her husband George Rennie became the new tenant. George was a witness at the Runciman family baptism of Helen, two years previously.

Birth & Christening

Birth:

Date: On or before 7 December 1746

Place: Whaupknow, Parish of Tyninghame, Haddingtonshire, Scotland^[2]

Christening:

Date: 7 December 1746

Place: At the Parish Church of Old Tyninghame, Haddingtonshire, Scotland^[3]

Tyninghame & Whitekirk were two separate parishes until 1760 when, on the closure of Tyninghame’s church, the parishes were merged together to form one congregation worshipping at Whitekirk. Only then did the parish become known as Whitekirk & Tyninghame.

Marriage

Husband: David Mason

Wife: Rennie Runciman

Marriage:

Date: 14 June 1776

Place: Their marriage banns were read at the parish churches of North Berwick (Rennie’s church) and Dunbar (David’s church), in Haddingtonshire, Scotland. The custom was to marry at the bride’s home and if this custom was followed the precise location for ‘tying the knot’ is, as yet, not known. It’s possible one or both of Rennie’s parents were still alive - Richard at the age of 75 & her mother Janet only slightly younger but his residence was last known in 1767/68 (at Castleton, in NB parish). However the Banns are read at North Berwick and their Register of Marriages describes Rennie as ‘in this parish’. Conjecturally, the most likely scenario, followed at that time by the great majority of young women setting out in employment, is Rennie has live-in accommodation as a domestic servant in town or in one of the rural farms or businesses.

The entry for May 25th (1776) reads:

‘’David Mason, a Labourer in the Parish of Dunbar & Rannie Runciman in this parish gave up their names to be proclaimed in order to Marriage, the 14th June was the Day of Marriage"^[4]

The couple went on to have 4 children – Janet, John, Helen & Mary whose profiles are not created on WikiTree yet.

Death

Rennie died on 25th July 1823^[5] in the parish of Dunbar, Haddingtonshire, Scotland where she & her husband appear to have lived all their married lives. Her burial is recorded in the Dunbar church ‘Register of the Dead’ as follows:

‘’25th 'Rennie Runciman, wife of ___Mason, Labourer, Dunbar‘’

In the next column, where the fee charged for use of a mortcloth is recorded, was written ‘Gratis’.’’

Like all death entries in this age, this is very short. However it does inform us that David is still living as Rennie is recorded as his wife and not as a ‘relict of’. Sadly, ‘gratis’ means he has insufficient money to pay for the mort cloth traditionally used to cover the body or for the better-off, the coffin. Perhaps at the age of 73 David is not fit enough to work now as an agricultural labourer? Sad too, that after a married lifetime in the town (presumably attending church every week & their 4 children baptised there) her husband’s name had to be found out later and in the event it never was recorded.

Family Profiles of Interest

Renay’s brother was William Runciman of Crail , who drowned at an early age in a fishing tragedy,

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, a Profile of the earliest documented birthplace on the Crail lineage describing 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 the 'Crail' Line.

Crail Fishing Disaster History and Latest News. Renay is a sister 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.

Sources

• Source: S102 Title: OPR East Lothian, Scotland RUNCIMAN Births, Author Address: http://scotlandspeople.gov.uk, Recipient Address: East Lothian, Scotland Abbreviation: OPR East Lothian, SCT RUNCIMAN Births 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: 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
• 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: 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

1. ↑ Source: #S102 Page: Birth/bap.? 7 Dec 1746 Renay d/o Richard RUNCIMAN & Jannet GOURLY, Whitekirk & Tynninghame, 723/ 0010 0110, extracted from index Feb 2010
2. ↑ Source: #S102 Page: Birth/bap.? 7 Dec 1746 Renay d/o Richard RUNCIMAN & Jannet GOURLY, Whitekirk & Tynninghame, 723/ 0010 0110, extracted from index Feb 2010
3. ↑ Source: #S102 Page: Birth/bap.? 7 Dec 1746 Renay d/o Richard RUNCIMAN & Jannet GOURLY, Whitekirk & Tynninghame, 723/ 0010 0110, extracted from index Feb 2010
4. ↑ Source: #S55 Page: Marr. 14 Jun 1776 Rannie RUNCIMAN & David MASON, North Berwick, ELN, 713/00 0030 0293, copy d/loaded Nov 2012
5. ↑ Ref No 706/ 80 204

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Alan Runciman for creating WikiTree profile Runciman-620 through the import of RUNCIMANAlansPaternal4WikiTreeAug2013.ged on Aug 29, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Alan and others.

<!—The Profile Manager would prefer you make contact before editing, adding, or deleting anything in this text. Thank you for your consideration!—>