In the early summer of 1629, the ecclesiastical machinery of Linlithgow turned its attention toward a widowed woman recorded only by her surname, Wilsone. While the surviving presbytery minutes offer a sparse narrative, they confirm that on June 3, 1629, she became the subject of a formal inquiry. At a time when the Kirk was increasingly rigorous in its policing of communal morality and the perceived presence of maleficium, Wilsone was brought before the local authorities to account for her conduct, marking the commencement of a legal process that would eventually lead to a trial.
Despite the gravity of the proceedings recorded in the official registers (C/JO/2847 and T/JO/514), the documentation remains notably reticent regarding the specific accusations levelled against her. The historical record provides no first name for Wilsone, reflecting the frequent anonymity often assigned to those—particularly widows—who found themselves standing before the presbytery during this period. As the case moved from initial examination to the trial phase, the details of her life in Linlithgow were subsumed into the formal judicial procedures of the Scottish witch trials, leaving a record defined more by its bureaucratic finality than by the personal testimony of the accused.