In the spring of 1697, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Anderson found herself swept into the intense climate of the Renfrewshire witch trials. A resident of Bowies in the parish of Inchinnan, Elizabeth was identified within the legal proceedings of that time as being associated with the wider investigations occurring across the region, including the Bargarran case. Following her initial confession in February 1697, she faced accusations related to attendance at a witches' meeting. However, despite the gravity of these charges, the legal handling of her case reflected the complexities of the judicial process during this period; due to her age, authorities deemed her too young to be formally charged as a primary defendant.
By the time the commission for the trial was read on March 18, 1697, the path for Elizabeth had shifted significantly. When the proceedings commenced in Renfrew on April 13, 1697, she was not proceeded against, ultimately receiving a verdict of not guilty and securing her release. Her role within the courtroom transitioned from the accused to that of a star witness, placing her at the center of the judicial activities that defined the 1697 Renfrewshire prosecutions. Her case remains a poignant example of the precarious involvement of youth in the early modern Scottish legal system, where the line between witness and suspect was often blurred by the pressures of confession and testimony.