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- He and his family appear to have had some excitement in their lives. From Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy, all citing Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland by Robert Pitcairn, Volume 1, parts 2 and 3 (Edinburgh: The Bannatyne Club, 1833):
1570 On November 4, William Cunningham of Aiket, his servants William Fergushill and Florence Crawfurd, and John Raburne of that Ilk were accused of the murder of John Mure of Cauldwell. They were acquitted on testimony that the murder was committed by the late Alexander Cunningham the younger of Aiket. […]
1578/79 On January 12, Helen Colquhoun did not appear in court. She was accused of administering poison to her husband William Cunningham the previous October. […]
1585 On February 12, brothers Alexander and William Cunningham of Aiket and Patrick Cunningham in Bordland were accused of taking part in the murder of Hugh Mure, Earl of Eglinton.
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Note that while Helen Colquhoun was, on 12 Jan 1579, charged with "administering poison to her husband" the previous October, the inconclusive surviving record does not appear to confirm that her husband actually died at that time. He may have, and the "brothers Alexander and William Cunningham of Aiket" who were accused of taking part in the murder of the 4th Earl of Eglinton may have been the Alexander and William who were among the sons of William Cunningham and Helen Colquhoun. Or the William of this pair may have been this William Cunningham. The Wikipedia article Barony of Aiket, citing Castles of the Clans by Martin Coventry (Musselburgh, Scotland: Goblinshead, 2010), calling the husband of Helen Colquhoun "Robert Cunninghame", asserts that he, who was accused of the murder of John Mure and was the target of a poisoning attempt by his wife, was also among those implicated in the murder of Hugh Mure / Montgomerie, the 4th Earl.
Ayr and Its People (citation details below) calls William Cunningham of Aiket "the late" at the time of his daughter Marion's 1595 marriage contract with John Lockhart.
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