On March 18, 1624, legal proceedings were initiated against Elspett Jamesoun, a resident of Barrowstouness (modern-day Bo'ness) in the county of Linlithgow. Recorded under case file C/EGD/951, the process moved through the machinery of the Scottish judicial system, ultimately leading to her appearance before the court in trial T/LA/428. While administrative records suggest that Elspett may be the same individual identified elsewhere as Elizabeth Jamesone, the surviving documentation focuses specifically on the events surrounding her accusation during the spring of that year.
The historical record for Elspett remains brief, yet it situates her firmly within the broader context of the Scottish witch trials that characterized the early seventeenth century. In the social and legal landscape of Bo'ness, her case serves as a point of intersection between local community tensions and the rigorous formal procedures of the period. Though the details of her testimony and the specific charges brought against her are not elaborated upon in these primary files, the transition from the initial accusation in March to the formal trial underscores the gravity with which the authorities regarded such allegations within the burgh.