Anna Tait, a woman of middling socioeconomic status residing in the burgh of Haddington, faced trial on 6 January 1635 following a commission issued by the Privy Council of Scotland in late 1634. Married to a local miller, Anna’s history prior to her time in Haddington was marked by a troubling revelation; during the legal proceedings, she confessed to the killing of her first husband, whom she had wed during a period of residence in England. The circumstances surrounding her case were compounded by her personal distress, as records indicate she had attempted to take her own life on three separate occasions prior to her apprehension.
During the course of the investigation, Anna was subjected to confinement in the stocks as part of the judicial process. She eventually provided a formal confession, the contents of which led to a verdict of guilty. Following the protocols of the period, she was sentenced to be executed; she was subsequently put to death by being strangled and burned. The record of her case, preserved in the Register of Commissions of the Privy Council, reflects the legal complexities and the finality of the criminal proceedings conducted against her in Haddington.