In the autumn of 1650, William Grant became a figure of administrative concern within the ecclesiastical networks of northeast Scotland. By October 23 of that year, formal proceedings were initiated regarding his involvement in witchcraft, a case recorded under the reference C/EGD/1839. Though his origins were likely rooted in the parish of Rathven in Banff, William appears to have moved through the region, coming to the attention of multiple church bodies.
Records indicate that William eventually became a fugitive, evading the immediate jurisdiction of the presbytery of Fordyce. The pursuit of his case extended across regional boundaries, as evidenced by references to him within the Strathbogie Presbytery records. Despite the efforts of the courts to secure his person for trial under T/JO/1262, William’s flight left his definitive legal fate obscured by the archival gaps typical of mid-seventeenth-century ecclesiastical documentation.