In July 1698, Margaret Laird, a resident of the parish of Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire, became the subject of a judicial inquiry recorded in the archival documentation cataloged under reference C/EGD/1938. Situated within the complex landscape of late seventeenth-century Scottish legal proceedings, Margaret’s case reflects the persistent local mechanisms of investigation that characterized the period. While the surviving administrative records for this specific inquiry are concise, they anchor her experience within the broader historical framework of the Scottish witch trials, which saw a surge in judicial activity during the final decades of the century.
The primary record concerning Margaret notes her residence in Kilmacolm, a locale that, like much of the Renfrewshire region, was deeply affected by the social and ecclesiastical pressures of the time. The documentation regarding her case remains tied to scholarly discussions concerning the archival tracking of these trials, particularly in relation to the work of historians like Christina Larner. By preserving the details of Margaret’s confrontation with the legal system, these records serve as a testament to the intersection of community suspicion and formal jurisprudence that defined the lives of those accused of witchcraft in early modern Scotland.