In December 1679, Margaret Hamilton, a widow residing in the coastal burgh of Bo’ness in Linlithgow, became the subject of a judicial inquiry recorded in the archives under case number C/EGD/1914. During this period of intense scrutiny regarding witchcraft in Scotland, her status as an unattached woman within her community intersected with the legal mechanisms of the time. The transition from accusation to formal legal proceedings was a significant development, reflecting the administrative rigour applied to such charges during the late seventeenth century.
The subsequent trial of Margaret, documented under reference T/JO/605, represents a formal stage in the judicial process of the Scottish Justiciary. While the surviving record remains sparse, omitting the specific testimonies or sentencing outcomes typical of more detailed accounts, the existence of these entries confirms her placement within the broader legal framework of the witch trials. Her case stands as a historical trace of the state’s involvement in the regulation of perceived supernatural transgression within the local landscape of Bo’ness.