On July 25, 1649, George Ker, a resident of Humbie in Haddington, became enmeshed in the complex legal mechanisms of the Scottish witch trials. His case is marked by its association with a broader wave of judicial activity, as he was one of thirteen individuals named in a formal request for a commission of inquiry. This petition, seeking the authority to investigate and prosecute the accused, underscores the systematic nature of the proceedings during this turbulent period of Scottish history.
Following this development, a confession was formally recorded for George on that same day in July. While the sparse surviving records do not detail the specific accusations brought against him or the circumstances of the subsequent trial, his case remains a documented entry in the judicial archives (C/JO/2674). By participating in the legal process of the time, George’s experience reflects the intense period of scrutiny that characterized the mid-seventeenth-century pursuit of those suspected of witchcraft in East Lothian.