The forgotten names of Dumbarton

The forgotten names of Dumbarton

My name is Louise Wilson and I am the newly appointed secretary of Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland. I live in Alexandria and wanted to know and research the accused of the area to hopefully go on to put on local talks and workshops and even an exhibition.

My research began in the local archives in Dumbarton library, they don’t have much Privy Council records but what they do have is 2 books of great importance

• Dumbarton common good accounts 1614-60

• Dumbarton burgh records 1627-1746

These are were I began my research, the Dumbarton burgh records show snippets of Privy Council documents and the common goods accounts show buying and paying for people to watch the witches in the Tollbooth, for buying peat, coal, timber, and tar for burning said Witches along with everyday expenses of the town.

From these records I have uncovered 6 unknown names of accused witches, that have not been previously documented.

The first list of 4 from 1624

• Marion MacLintock, wife of Patrick Allan, Burgess of the Burgh.

• Marion Fallisdaill, widow of Mr Tarbet, Burgess of the Burgh.

• Jonet MacKinley, widow of Mr Taylor and her son John Taylor.

They all seemed to be accused in April 1624, as it is recorded in the common good accounts “Item gevin to John Sempill boye for going to Burrowstouness and for extracting of the process leltir againe the witches in Apryl 1624” and executed in the June of the same year as states “Item to William Makkie, merchand for Irene employit on the new stokks maid for the witches and for towis to bind the witches burnt in the June and certane naylis”.

We know the two Marioun’s were burnt as states “Item for coills and peittis to help to burn the said Marioun Fallisdaill and Marioun MacLintock eftir their convictioun”.

There is another Marioun MacLintock in 1628, account and Privy Council records show her being brought up accused of witchcraft and someone being paid to cut and coull her hair to look for the Devils Mark but no mention of what happened to her after, but with records show Marioun MacLintock being burnt 4 years earlier this is more than likely a relative of hers and a separate accused.

Jonet is mentioned again “Item to William Makkie, merchand for furneishing ane hundreth certane towis to bind the witches speciallie Jonet MacKinley”. We can guess from her being referred to as “witch” and being in Tollbooth that she was probably executed, but no recorded proof could be found. Her son John is not mentioned again so we can assume he was let go.

In the account records for 1643, I found Bessie Bargillie which show “from the belongings of Bessie Bargillies, witch, sold for the charges bestowed on her trial and execution” 37lib 13s 0d. “Item to John Clerk, messenger, for summoning of the assyse to pass on the assume of the said Bessie Bargillie and upsetting of the stoup wharirat she was wirryit and thaireftir burnt”.

No other information of who Bessie was or who her husband might have been could be found. The Burgh records from 1641-1651 seem to have vanished and missing from the 1627-1746 records. So we also do not know what the accusations brought against her were.

In 1650, I found the last unknown accused Jonet Ewing, wife of Johne Porter, as accounts state “ Item to Johne Craig. Merchand, for nailes to the laich vault doer to put Jonet Ewing, spous to Johne Pirter in Glen suspect of witchcraft”. 5s 6d

As the records for this year are missing from the Burgh records, we don’t know the accusations against Jonet or what happened to her after, only that there is a record of paying for a warrand for putting her to trial and paying someone to watch her while imprisoned.

Before I started my research it was thought that the 1st accused witch in Dumbarton was Jonet Boyd in 1628, but I now know there were 4 in 1624. The records in the archive only start in 1614, so I have no way of knowing if there were any prior to this, but I have no doubt that if there was then I would have found more forgotten names and believe there will be lots more eventually recovered.