Anderson,Elizabeth
Case Reference: C/EGD/1935
| Case Ref | C/EGD/1935 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Elizabeth Anderson |
| Case Start Date | 18/3/1697 |
| Case Date | 19/3/1697 |
| Age at Case | 17 |
| Common Name | Anderson,Elizabeth |
|---|
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Demonic | — | ✓ |
| Demonic Possession | — | ✓ |
| Fairies | — | ✓ |
| Maleficium | — | ✓ |
| Implicated by Another | — | ✓ |
| Other | ✓ | ✓ |
Other details: turned state's evidence for prosecution
Notes: Complicated case involving numerous accusations of murdering children through magical strangulation and possession of several children. Much of the evidence was derived from the testimony of children who claimed to be possessed and tormented by witches. But there was great concern over the murdered children and a murdered minister. The record describes the physical torment of the possessed children in great detail. An extraordinary document!
| Devil Present | Yes |
|---|---|
| Communal Sex | No |
| Devil Worship | No |
| Food and Drink | No |
| Dancing | Yes |
| Singing | No |
Notes: See Agnes Naismith (c/egd/1773) for full description. She made accusations against others saying she was there but not that she was a witch herself.
Meeting Places
| Place | Location | Inversion |
|---|---|---|
| Kilpatrick | No | |
| Moor | Kilmacolme | No |
| Yard | christian shaw | No |
| Yard | murdered minister, Mr. John Hardie | No |
| House | murdered boy | No |
| Elphane/Fairyland | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Food/Drink | — |
| Verbal Formulae | — |
| Ritual Acts | ✓ |
| Familiars | — |
| Shape Changing | — |
|---|---|
| Dreams/Visions | — |
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | — |
| Sympathetic Magic | ✓ |
| Riding Dead | — |
Notes: Allegedly part of, and a witness to, a group of witches who used image magic to kill people.
Elf/Fairy Elements
- 12:00
Ritual Objects
- Wax/clay images
- Bone
- Hair
- Blood (animal)
Harm
| Human Illness | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Human Death | ✓ |
| Animal Illness | — |
| Animal Death | — |
| Female Infertility | — |
| Male Impotence | — |
Methods
| Aggravating Disease | — |
|---|---|
| Transferring Disease | — |
| Laying On | — |
| Quarreling | — |
| Cursing | — |
| Poisoning | — |
Healing / Other
| Removal of Bewitchment | — |
|---|---|
| Recognised Healer | — |
| Healing Humans | — |
| Healing Animals | — |
| Midwifery | — |
| Property Damage | — |
| Weather Modification | — |
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Pipe | devil played |
| Name | Title | Involvement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Alexander | of Blackhouse | Commissioner | |
| Thomas Blackwell | Mr | Investigator | |
| David Brown | Mr | Investigator | |
| John Kincaid | Mr of Carsbusket | Commissioner | |
| John Maxwell | Sir of Nether Pollok | Commissioner | |
| John Maxwell | Sir of Nether Pollok | Commissioner | |
| Francis Montgomery | Mr of Giffuie | Commissioner | |
| William Muir | of Glanderston | Commissioner | |
| Robert Sempill | Commissioner | ||
| John Shaw | Sir of Greenock | Commissioner | |
| Patrick Simpson | Mr | Investigator | |
| Alexander Stewart | Lord Blantyre | Investigator | |
| Alexander Stewart | Lord Blantyre | Commissioner | |
| John Stewart | Mr of Blackhall | Commissioner | |
| John Stirling | Mr | Investigator | |
| Robert Taylor | Mr | Investigator | |
| Andrew Turner | Mr | Investigator |
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paisley Presbytery records | CH2/294/4. | also in Gilmore thesis, 'Witchcraft and the Church in Scotland' Glasgow University, 1948, p. 303. Pagination not consistent so use dates. |
| Circuit Court Books | JC10/4 fo. 1r-81r second pagination | |
| Privy Council | PC1/51 p. 136-9 | Larner also has her mentioned in 1699 in JC26/81 bundle 9 but I didn't find her there with the other Renfrewshire cases. |
| Trial Ref | Date | Year | Verdict | Sentence | Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T/JO/1132 | 13/4/1697 | 1697 | Not Guilty | Released | No |