On December 16, 1649, the legal records of Roxburghshire document the commencement of proceedings against the woman known as the wife of James Bissett, a resident of the town of Kelso. Within the administrative framework of the mid-17th century, her identity was formally recorded through her marital connection to her husband, marking the beginning of a judicial process that would see her name entered into the archives of the Scottish witch trials.
The specific trial, cataloged as T/JO/1646, followed the standard preliminary inquiries necessitated by such accusations during this period. While the archival record C/JO/3144 provides the essential biographical markers—her status as a married woman and her residence in Kelso—the preservation of her case remains a testament to the rigorous, albeit often devastating, legal mechanisms applied to those accused of witchcraft in the aftermath of the severe legislative and religious shifts of the 1640s. Following this initial formal entry in December, Bissett’s legal proceedings continued to move through the local courts, reflecting the prevailing anxieties and legal scrutiny of her community.