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Runyon

Genealogy Launch Site

We are searching for descendants of John Runyon (sometimes spelled Runyan, Runion, etc.) who is first found in the "Brocks Gap" area of what is now northern Rockingham (formerly a part of Augusta) County, Virginia on 13 December 1753. John's place of origin is not currently known. Brocks Gap is located west of Broadway, Virginia between the villages of  Cootes Store and Fulks Run and northerly up Runions Creek. To get there, take Brocks Gap Road (highway 294) westerly from Broadway to Runions Creek Road. The intersection of Brocks Gap Road and Runions Creek Road is on the west side of the Chimney Rock V.F.W. Post.

My cousin Wayne Runyan (20 Jun 1927-8 Sep 2014) & I have been working together on this project since 1992. I plan to publish a book about John's descendants with a delayed goal of, hopefully, the near future - but I still hope to identify John's ancestry. So far, we have over 68,000 names (including descendants, spouses & parents of spouses) but are far from finished. I need all the help I can get in filling in the blanks and making corrections. The attached pages give you the first few generations as per our current level of research.   Click on the highlighted <John Runyon>, above, to view these pages. If you have any additions or corrections, please let us know about them as we want to be as complete and accurate as possible.  Please help us if you have any information. We do hope that you enjoy this site and that you find it useful in your family search.

John's only proven children are:
1: Elizabeth ("Betsy") who married Jacob Citty (Zetty)
2: John, Jr. who married Esther Rife (Reif/Reiff)
3: Jacob who married Mary ("Polly") ________
4: Mary who married Arnold Ford (Foard)
5: Nancy who married John Hawk (Johannes Hauk),
6: Anderson who married Leannah ("Anna") Farney
7: Daniel who first married Margaret Orebaugh (Oberbeck). After Margaret's death, Daniel's second marriage was to Magdalene Weatherholtz (Wetterholtz)

John Runyon, Sr. may have been descended from the carpenter Vincent Rongnion (or, more likely, Rougnon) who immigrated to Elizabeth Town, New Jersey from the vicinity of Poitiers, France in the 1660s - but no relationship has been proven to date.

WARNINGS!!: You may encounter information, on the internet and elsewhere, which claims to set forth an "ancestry" of this John Runyon. Such information usually includes such names as Anna Barefoot, Barefoot/Isaac Runyan, Prudence Smalley, Peter Runyon and/or Providence Blackford. If you do come across such claims, it would be in your best interest to disregard them. They are not true and there is no known original source documentation for any of said claims. "Anna Barefoot" is often portrayed as a wife of John Runyon, Sr. but that is untrue. John’s wife was named Anne and all research indicates that her maiden name was Goodpasture. The "Anna Barefoot", who is often connected to John, is a totally fictional person. No such person ever existed in this family. The other names, mentioned above, were all legitimate members of the extended Runyon/Runyan/Runion family but they have no proven relationship to this John Runyon.

Also, you may come across a coat-of-arms for which claims are made for the Runyon family. It contains 3 gold bees on a plain blue background. However, this crest does NOT belong to the Runyon family. It belonged to Henri Regnon of Chaligne, France. Henri has no known connection to anyone in our family. This crest was awarded to Henri in the year 1700. Claims of this type portray Henri as the father to the above mentioned Vincent but that is impossible since Vincent would have been born in the early 1640s and Henri did not marry until after his promotion to nobility in 1700.

Always remember that finding information in a book or on the internet does not make it fact. You need reputable independent documentation for proof.

If you have any questions or any information you would like to share, please contact me at:

Norman L. Runyon (norman@runyon.com)

Last updated 9 March 2020