The case of Jon Boig, an indweller of Inverkip in Renfrewshire, presents us with a rare instance during the Scottish witch trials of a man being accused. Jon's designation as of "middling" socioeconomic status indicates that he occupied a position somewhere between the laboring poor and the wealthier merchant class, a strata of society which often found itself neither entirely secure nor wholly destitute during times of local turmoil. Recorded in the Registers of the Privy Council (RPC), he lived in a village affected by the pervasive societal unease that swept Scotland during the 17th century, where fear of witchcraft was part of larger anxieties concerning order and religious orthodoxy.
On the 13th of February, 1662, Jon Boig's case was formally documented under the reference C/EGD/1416. The lack of detailed allegations within the surviving records seemingly leaves open the nature of the accusations that culminated in his trial. However, his case number T/JO/877 suggests it proceeded through official channels, subjecting him to the tumultuous and turbulent process of witchcraft hearings. Boig's experience would have unfolded against the tense backdrop of post-Civil War Scotland, a society grappling with shifting religious tides and community dynamics. His standing as a "middling" resident perhaps made him a focal point of suspicion, as those of his class often found themselves precariously situated in the fabric of their communities.
Although the records provide scant detail about the outcome of Jon Boig's trial or his personal experiences therein, they underscore the era's atmosphere of suspicion and the mechanisms by which ordinary lives could be upended by accusations of witchcraft. His case is a poignant reminder of the complex interplay between local fears and the broader socio-political upheavals of 17th century Scotland, capturing a glimpse of the human stories entangled in the widespread persecution of alleged witchcraft.