In the summer of 1628, Margaret Oliver, a resident of the coastal burgh of Prestonpans in Haddingtonshire, became the subject of legal scrutiny regarding the practice of witchcraft. On July 15, 1628, her case (C/EGD/1020) was formally recorded within the judicial apparatus of the Scottish state, marking the commencement of proceedings that would eventually lead to her appearance before the court.
The archival evidence confirms that Margaret was subsequently brought to trial under the reference number T/LA/492. While the specific nature of the charges levied against her remains obscured by the limitations of the extant records, her case reflects the broader patterns of local prosecution prevalent during the early modern period. Through these remaining administrative entries, the historical record preserves Margaret’s name and the procedural timeline of her encounter with the Scottish criminal justice system.