Nicolas Lauson

she/her · Fife · 1709

Nicolas Lauson

Nicolas Lauson, a married woman of middling socioeconomic status residing in the Fife town of Pittenweem, found herself entangled in the volatile legal climate of 1708. Her husband, a farmer, lived alongside a community increasingly gripped by reports of supernatural affliction. Nicolas was identified as part of a group of seven individuals accused of tormenting Patrick Morton, the sixteen-year-old son of a local smith. This case was categorized as one of possession, a phenomenon so alarming to Pittenweem officials that they invoked the precedent of the "Bargarran’s daughter" case in the west to secure a commission for trial. The gravity of these accusations drew the attention of the Privy Council, who appointed Her Majesty’s Advocate, Sir James Stewart, to lead the prosecution, with costs covered by the royal treasury.

The legal proceedings against Nicolas were protracted and arduous. Following her initial implication in late 1708, she was placed on caution and ordered to appear before a circuit court. By the spring of 1709, the legal momentum accelerated; she was placed on a new porteous roll, arrested, and transferred to Perth for trial in May. Her case was woven into a wider web of local suspicion, as she had been previously denounced by Janet Horseburgh and named as an accomplice by Janet Cornfoot. Furthermore, archival records indicate that Nicolas had provided confessions as early as June 1704 and again at a later date. Despite the systematic progression of these judicial efforts, the historical record falls silent after the scheduled trial in Perth, leaving the ultimate resolution of her case unrecorded.

This narrative was generated by AI based solely on the historical records in the database.

Timeline of Events
20/10/1708 — Case opened
Lauson,Nicolas
Charges: Witches' meeting
— — Trial
— — Trial
20/5/1709 — Trial
Key Facts
SexFemale
Marital statusMarried
Social statusMiddling
CountyFife
Confessions (2)
6/1704 Recorded
Date unknown Recorded
Named by 2 other(s)
Janet Horseburgh
Janet Horseburgh · Denounced
Janet Cornfoot
Janet Cornfoot · Accomplice
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