In the summer of 1661, the judicial mechanisms of the Scottish state focused their attention on Euphame Bartleman, a resident of Woodfoot of Newhall, located within the parish of Abbey St Bathans in Berwick. The records indicate that her legal entanglement began on June 13, 1661, marking the commencement of a formal case against her under the reference number C/EGD/1583. As with many individuals caught in the fervor of the mid-seventeenth-century witch trials, Euphame found herself subjected to the scrutiny of local and national authorities during a period defined by intense societal anxiety and rigorous legislative pursuit of those suspected of maleficium.
The procedural journey for Euphame was protracted, extending well beyond her initial appearance in the early summer of 1661. According to the archival documentation (T/JO/1676), her trial reached a subsequent stage of development fifteen years later, in 1676. This significant passage of time underscores the gravity with which the court viewed such accusations and the often-interrupted nature of seventeenth-century legal proceedings. By documenting these specific dates and her place of residence, the records preserve the profile of Euphame as a figure navigating the precarious legal landscape of early modern Berwickshire.