In the summer of 1662, the judicial machinery of early modern Scotland turned its attention toward Jonet Alexander, a resident of the parish of Inverkip in Renfrew. On August 1st of that year, formal proceedings were initiated against her under the reference case C/EGD/1687. At a time when the Scottish legal system was increasingly preoccupied with the perceived threat of maleficium, Jonet was drawn into the administrative oversight of the local presbytery and the central authorities, marking the beginning of a process that would inevitably disrupt the fabric of her life in the coastal community.
Following the initial registration of her case, the historical record notes the transition of her proceedings to a trial phase, designated by the archival reference T/JO/1009. Despite the meticulous nature of the record-keeping during this period of intense judicial scrutiny, no further details regarding the specific allegations, the nature of the evidence presented, or the final verdict reached in the case of Jonet have survived in the extant archives. Her story, preserved within these brief administrative entries, remains an enigmatic reflection of the broader ecclesiastical and secular efforts to regulate the spiritual and social order of seventeenth-century Scotland.