In June 1723, Margaret Drummond, a resident of Linton, found herself brought before the legal authorities under the shadow of a witchcraft accusation. While historical records leave ambiguity regarding which Linton she called home—whether the village in Teviotdale within the Kelso presbytery or the West Linton of Peeblesshire—the gravity of her situation remained constant. Her case, documented under the reference C/EGD/2091, marks a late entry into the protracted history of Scottish witch trials, occurring at a time when the judicial processes surrounding such allegations were becoming increasingly scrutinised.
Beyond these administrative markers, the details of Margaret’s lived experience and the specific grievances leveled against her remain largely obscured by the passage of time and the limitations of the extant record. The available documentation acknowledges her presence in the legal system during the summer of 1723 but does not elaborate on the nature of the evidence presented or the eventual outcome of the proceedings. Consequently, Margaret remains a figure defined by the brief, formal notation of a judicial system that sought to regulate the perceived spiritual and social transgressions of the early eighteenth century.