HUME, JAMES DEACON, younger son of James Hume, Secretary of the Customs, and Elizabeth Capps; nephew of Nathaniel Hume (qv); b. 28 Apr 1774; adm. 13 Jan 1783; was victorious in a “mill’ with Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bart. (adm. 1784, qv), “who, though the bigger boy of the two, was not so good a gladiator” (Badham, Life of J. D. Hume, 1859, 9); left 1791; Indoor clerk, Custom House 1791; rose to position Controller of the Customs; drafted Consolidated Customs Acts which received royal assent Jul 1825; Joint Secretary, Board of Trade 15 Jul 1829 – 4 Jan 1840; one of founders of Political Economy Club; a founder and Deputy Chairman, Atlas Assurance Company; a convinced Free Trader; author, Thoughts on the Corn Laws, 1815, and other works; m. 4 Jun 1799 Frances Elizabeth, widow of Charles Ashwell, Grenada, West Indies, and dau. of Edward Whitehouse, Customs House, Gentleman Usher Quarterly Waiter to George III; d. 12 Jan 1842. DNB.