In the spring of 1697, Margaret Rodgers, a sixty-year-old resident of Whythill in Renfrew, found herself drawn into the legal vortex of the Renfrewshire witch trials. Alongside her sister, who was also named in the proceedings, Margaret was indicted for participating in a witches’ meeting, a charge that carried grave implications within the early modern judicial framework. The gravity of the accusation was compounded by the fact that both women provided formal confessions to the authorities, documenting their alleged involvement in these clandestine gatherings.
Despite these self-incriminating testimonies, the judicial trajectory of the sisters’ case took an unexpected turn. While the broader group of individuals indicted alongside them faced the full scrutiny of the court, Margaret’s legal process concluded abruptly. On 18 May 1697, the diet—the scheduled court session for the hearing of their case—was deserted by the prosecution. Having already secured her release by 13 April 1697, Margaret’s official trial ended without a verdict or punishment, leaving no further record as to why the charges were abandoned against her and her sister.