In April 1662, the wife of Archibald Baird, a resident of Blauster in Haddington, found herself ensnared in the turbulent legal proceedings that defined the witch trials of the mid-seventeenth century. Her accusation originated from the testimony of James Welch, an individual whose extensive denunciations implicated a large number of people across the region. Despite Welch being deemed too young to stand trial—a factor that led to his subsequent imprisonment—his confession and the specific names he provided were treated with significant gravity by the legal authorities of the time.
Following these denunciations, the wife of Archibald was formally recorded in the judicial register under case reference C/EGD/511. The legal machinery moved swiftly to address the charges brought against her, with the trial proceedings documented under T/LA/1338. Within the context of the 1662 wave of accusations, her case reflects the period's reliance on the testimonies of both accusers and the accused, where the words of an individual like Welch were sufficient to initiate the full weight of the Scottish legal system against those named in his confession.