In the spring of 1697, John Reid, a smith of middling socioeconomic status residing in the parish of Inchinnan, became embroiled in the extensive legal proceedings that would come to be known as the Renfrewshire witch trials. As part of this wider judicial cycle, John was formally indicted on April 13, 1697, in the town of Renfrew. The charges brought against him centered upon his alleged participation in a witches’ meeting, an accusation that placed him squarely within the complex web of testimony and suspicion that characterized the Renfrewshire cases.
Following the initial indictment, the legal process surrounding John’s case moved with deliberate, measured pace. On May 19, 1697, the court formally addressed the matter again, electing to continue the trial proceedings. The bench scheduled the next phase of the hearing for May 28, 1697, maintaining the smith in the custody of the judicial system as the court prepared to further examine the accusations leveled against him.