Elizabeth Black, also known as Elspeth or Elspet Blak, was a married woman residing in Alloa who found herself at the centre of prolonged legal proceedings during the turbulent years of the late 1650s and early 1660s. Her involvement with the justice system began in March 1659, when she stood trial in Stirling alongside two others. Despite her plea of not guilty, Elizabeth was convicted and sentenced to be transported, necessitating her incarceration in Stirling prison. Her status within the community was likely of a middling sort, a suggestion supported by the fact that she possessed the literacy required to sign a formal supplication to the commissioners of justice.
This document, authored by Elizabeth and another accused woman, Katherine Black, on 22 March 1659, demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of legal procedure. In it, the women requested a postponement of their sentencing and formally petitioned for the jury to be recalled and instructed according to the law. Their efforts eventually bore fruit; following two years of imprisonment, the Privy Council acknowledged significant irregularities in the initial proceedings and ordered that the case be retried. While a subsequent local trial was indeed held, the historical records do not reveal its final outcome, leaving the conclusion of Elizabeth’s legal journey obscured by the gaps in the surviving documentation.