In the summer of 1649, legal proceedings were initiated against Janet Cant, a resident of the royal burgh of Queensferry in the county of Linlithgow. On June 12, Janet was formally brought before the authorities to answer charges of witchcraft, a process documented under case reference C/JO/3062. This period represented a time of intense judicial scrutiny regarding alleged maleficium within the Scottish Lowlands, as the legal apparatus of the Kirk and state sought to address fears of supernatural influence within local communities.
Following the initial filing of her case, Janet was subjected to the formal mechanisms of the Scottish justice system, with her trial recorded under the reference T/JO/1438. As a resident of a significant port town on the Firth of Forth, her experience reflects the broader socio-legal patterns of the 1649 witch hunts, during which numerous women across Linlithgowshire were brought into custody. The records for Janet remain preserved within the judicial archives, providing a testament to the administrative rigour applied to her prosecution during this tumultuous era.