736. Vincent Runyon (Rongnion)
It was with the unrest of the religious revolt in France and with the rigorous persecutions inflicted upon the inhabitants for their protestant beliefs that thousands of these peoples, who became known as huguenots, fled their homeland in France and sought refuge in many other nations throughout the world. It was with this Huguenot movement that Vincent Rongnion, as a young man, excaped to the Isle of Jersey, which was one of the Channel Islands that became a part of England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Vincent Rongnion had lived in or near Poitiers, Vienne, France, in the province of Poitou, which is said to be the home of Vincent Rongnion's family.
Circa 1666 Vincent Rongnion sailed from the Isle of Jersey on the ship PHILIP, named for Philip Carteret, the recently appointed governor to the territory in the new world. Vincent first settled in Elizabethtowne, New Jersey. Early records show that he was listed as "Vincent Rognion, mariner." Here Vincent met and married Ann Martha Boutcher, also of Huguenot descent. On June 28, 1668, their license was issued by Governor Philip Carteret, who gave Poitou Province, France as Vincent's former home. James Bollen, secretary, performed the marriage ceremony on July 17, 1668. Ann was the daugher of John Boutcher from Hartford, England. Vincent and Ann adjusted well to the rugged pioneer way of life they encountered in this new land. Vincent was instrumentl in the formation and progress of the newly extablished Elizabethtowne where he and Ann lived for about the first twelve years of their married life. Seven of their children were born here.
Vincent Rongnion's name was anglicized sometime after the marriage license was issued. I has been related by several authorities that Vincent Runyon who was a carpenter, was prosperous even in his early years in the young village of what was to become the capital of West Jersey, when the province was divided. It was here on March 25,1671, that he purchased land from "Francis Barber of Elizabethtown, a planter, sells to Vincent Runyon of same, carpenter, a house lot formerly owned by Thomas Moore, 40 rods long by 16 rods wide, on the south side of the house lot of George Pack, fronting on the highway." This home lot had been previously acquired of William Pyles.
Soon after this time, dissension arose among some of the settlers of Elizabethtown whereas Vincent and some of the other citizens did not want to be caught up in the conflict. however, the problem worsened and in a short time Vincent and his family, along with some of the other families there, moved, before 1677, further inland to Piscatawaytowne (later Piscataway), New Jersey.
Vince Runyon was one on a list for land apportionment to the early settlers in the formative years of Piscataway. This grant, in which he received 120 acres in 1677, was also celebrated by many newcomers, who became close friends and neighbors to the Vincent Runyon family. And through the marriages of some of their children, they formed a permanent bond of friendship. Vincent acquired more land soon after the parcel mentioned above, which was all on the Rartan River in Piscataway, New Jersey...In 1680 Vincent sold this house lot that he acquired in 1678 and moved upstream and established a home on land that he had acquired in 1678. In 1688 vincent added to his property here by purchasing an adjacent lot of seventy acres.
Vincent and Ann are burried side by side (no gravemarkers) in the Old Baptist Cemetery near the Old Piscataway Common, in back of the St.James Episcopal Church on Woodbridge Avenue, Edison. The cemetery in not part of the church.Wright, UP THE RUNYON / RUNION / RUNYAN TREE, part II, pp. 1-6.
737. Ann Martha Boutcher (Bouchierre)
Ann Martha Boucher was born ca 1650, in Hertfordshire, England. She was the mother of our Runyan, Runyon, Runion heritage in America. Her father, John Boucher, was born ca 16215, a second son and a Huguenot; he emigrated from France to England to insure a better life. His older brother, Rene Boucher, was born ca 1620 and was a Seigneur of Richebourg, Nontlaurent, France. The father of John and Rene Jr. was Rene Boucher, born 1595 and died 1665, who was Seigneur of Avenson, France.
Wright, p. 6.