On November 20, 1628, Margaret Barrowman, a resident of the small settlement of Easthouses in the parish of Newbattle, found herself drawn into the machinery of the Scottish legal system on suspicion of witchcraft. Her case is one of many recorded during this period of heightened judicial activity; she was not standing alone, but was instead processed alongside seven other individuals similarly accused. The records from this time are brief, offering little context regarding the specific nature of the allegations brought against her or the circumstances of her daily life in the Midlothian countryside.
Despite the sparsity of surviving biographical detail, the archival evidence confirms that Margaret did not remain silent throughout the proceedings. On the very day her case was formally noted, a confession was recorded under her name. While the specific contents of this testimony have not survived to provide insight into her personal narrative or the accusations she faced, the existence of a documented confession serves as the definitive administrative conclusion to her encounter with the authorities in Newbattle.