In the spring of 1699, Margaret Whyt, a widowed woman of middling status from the parish of Govan, found herself drawn into a period of acute local anxiety. Margaret’s social standing was defined largely by her late husband’s trade as a tailor, and contemporary records suggest she may have shared familial connections with other local women, specifically Janet Robertson and Anna Hill. Her involvement in the legal orbit of the time was precipitated by the testimony of Margaret Murdoch, the daughter of John Murdoch of Craigtown. This young girl, who claimed to be under the influence of supernatural torment, named a multitude of individuals in Govan during her examinations, which were conducted by a panel of ministers and a physician.
Despite the accusations leveled against her, the nature of Margaret’s interaction with the authorities remained tenuous. While a single male witness provided testimony against her in Glasgow on April 22, 1699, the historical record regarding her fate is notably incomplete. Although Margaret was clearly identified as a person of suspicion during this period of hysteria, there is no evidence within the extant documentation to suggest that formal legal proceedings were ever initiated against her. Consequently, while her name appears in the broader accounts of the Govan trials, the ultimate resolution of her case remains obscured by the limitations of the surviving archives.