In the year 1677, Margret Jackson, a widow residing in the small community of Pollokshaws, Paisley in Renfrew, found herself ensnared in the web of one of Scotland’s dark chapters, with accusations of witchcraft casting a shadow over her life. Margret was related by marriage to three other individuals drawn into the same maelstrom of accusations. The records suggest her ties through marriage to the Stewart family, although it remains ambiguous whether her deceased husband was the son or brother of the infamous Jonet Mathie, complicating her familial associations.
The turning tide of suspicion bore down on Margret with charges that included the grave accusation of maleficium, meaning she was believed to have wielded harmful magic, and of participating in gatherings deemed sinister, known in the records as "Witches' meetings." These charges were severe enough to warrant the involvement of the Privy Council, indicating the gravity with which her situation was viewed by the authorities. Despite her confession, recorded early in January of 1677, the legal procedure still unfolded rapidly, reflecting the intensity and urgency often characteristic of witch trials of the period.
On the 14th of February that same year, Margret faced trial in Renfrew under a commission of combined local and central judicial representation, an interesting blend that attests to both the local nature and the widespread concern of such trials. The verdict was swift and afforded no reprieve—guilty. Sentenced to a grim fate, Margret's execution took place on the 20th of February at Gallow Green. The manner of execution—strangulation followed by burning—was customary for those convicted of witchcraft, reflecting the severe societal and institutional responses to such accusations at the time. Margret Jackson’s story, preserved in fragmentary records, provides a poignant glimpse into the personal cost of the witchcraft hysteria that gripped parts of Scotland during the early modern period.