RUNNER-RENNER-LAUFFER: Though some of the current Runners are probably descended from that German Lauffer family, given that there were already Runners (as well as Renners) in the 1790 census in places like North Carolina, there are certain to be branches of Runners unrelated to Lauffer-Runners. Thus, one goal of this project is to use DNA evidence to clarify the number and connectedness of the various branches of Runners currently living in the US and abroad. A second goal is to use DNA evidence to examine the Lauffer surname both in the US and in Germany to further clarify the ancestral lineage of the current Runners descended from Lauffers. A third goal is to investigate the relationship between the Renner surname and the Runner surname by using DNA to clarify connections between the two surnames. Fourth, DNA evidence can be used to knock down “brick walls” in genealogical research on the various branches of the Runner family where paper evidence is scarce. This may be true for Runners and Renners that were in the US before the 1790 census, for Runners that have come to the US since then, as well as for Runners descended from the German Lauffers.

RENNER-RUNNER: It has been estimated that as many as seven different 'tribes' of Renners existed in Europe during the Middle Ages and an important question would be to determine to what extent these Renners descend from a common source. There are Renners that have come from Pennsylvania and Renners that have come from Maryland--including several known early immigrants from whom many current Renners descend--so one goal of this project is to determine if these two branches are from the same European branches, or if they descend from different branches, coming from Europe separately and at different times. Of particular interest is the Renner families from Frederick County, MD and the extent to which they may be related to each other, to the PA Renners or others.