In the year 1661, in the small village of Bolton in Haddington, Anna Kemp found herself entangled in the perilous web of witchcraft accusations that gripped much of Scotland during this tumultuous period. As a married woman, Anna's station in life would have brought her a semblance of stability, yet her world was undoubtedly upended when she was charged with attending a witches' meeting. On November 14th of the same year, her case was officially noted, marked ominously under the title C/EGD/1374.
The records from Anna's trial, designated T/JO/1028, unfortunately provide scant detail, offering little insight into the proceedings or the nature of the evidence presented against her. However, it appears her involvement in the supposed witches' assemblies was taken seriously enough to secure her conviction in the eyes of the authorities. Prior to her trial, a confession had been recorded on the 2nd of June, a common occurrence in this era when confessions, often elicited under duress, formed a critical component of securing a guilty verdict.
Anna's case also intersected with others of its kind, her name surfacing in the trial records of Margaret Ker, where she was denoted as an accomplice. This connection to Margaret highlights the complex network of accusations and confessions that characterized the witch trials—one individual's condemnation often leading to the implication of others within their community. Anna Kemp's story, as sketched by these fragmentary records, paints a picture of the fearful, interconnected nature of 17th-century witch hunts in Scotland, where community ties could swiftly turn to webs of suspicion.