The historical record regarding Nicholas Buchanan presents a portrait of a woman caught within the complex judicial machinery of seventeenth-century Scotland. Although one archival source suggests an association with Nairn, the primary documentation identifies Nicholas as a resident of Killearn, situated in the shire of Stirling. Her case reveals the administrative irregularities common to the period, as she was simultaneously listed as a fugitive from Dunbarton while the official court documents reaffirmed her origins in Stirlingshire.
By late 1679, legal proceedings against Nicholas were already underway, with a Dunbarton porteous roll noting that a diet had been set for her in September of that year. Following a circuit court appearance in Stirling where her dittay—the formal document detailing the charges brought against her—was submitted, the matter was elevated to the High Court in Edinburgh. On January 5, 1680, the High Court formally deserted the dittay, effectively terminating the prosecution. Consequently, Nicholas was released from the charges brought against her, concluding a process that had spanned several months and multiple jurisdictions.