Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Hume, Alexander (d.1682)
HUME, ALEXANDER (d. 1682), of Kennetsidehead, covenanter, was a portioner of Hume, and is described by Lauder of Fountainhall as 'a small gentleman of the Merse.' In 1682 he was taken prisoner by Charles Home, afterwards eighth earl of Home, and conveyed, sorely wounded, to the castle of Edinburgh. At first he was tried on the charge of having held converse with those who took the castle of Hawick in 1679, but the proof was defective, and no conviction was obtained. On 15 Nov. he was indicted before the justice court 'of rising in rebellion against the king's majesty within the shires of Roxburgh, Berwick, Selkirk, and Peebles, in marching up and down in arms, rendezvousing with the rebels in Bewly bridge, resisting and fighting apart of his majesty's forces under the command of the Master of Ross, besieging the castle of Hawick, robbing the arms therein, and marching towards Bothwell bridge.' Again proof was wanting, but he was kept in prison, and on 20 Dec. was indicted for 'having come to the house of Sir Henry MacDougall of Mackerston, besieged it, and demanded horses and arms, and of having subsequently come armed to Kelso, Selkirk, and Hawick.' The prosecutors tried to show that Hume was a captain and commanding officer among the covenanters, and therefore not included in the indemnity of 1679, which specially excluded 'ringleaders.' His defence was that after attending sermon, and riding, as was customary, with sword and holster pistols, he on his way home with a servant called at Mackerston House, and offered to buy a bay horse. Hume was found guilty and condemned to be hanged at the market cross of Edinburgh on 29 Dec. His request that his case might be laid before the king was peremptorily refused. His friends took the matter up, and according to Wodrow a reprieve actually arrived before the execution, but was kept back by the chancellor, the Earl of Perth. This statement lacks corroboration. According to Lauder of Fountainhall, Hume 'died more seriously and calmly than many others of his persuasion had done before him' (Historical Notices, p. 341). On the scaffold he made a speech, of which Wodrow professes to supply a report.
[Wodrow's Sufferings of the Church of Scotland; Lauder of Fountainhall's Historical Notices (Bannatyne Club); Historical Observes (Bannatyne Club).]