Papers relating to the Witch of Monzie

Colonel Graham of Inchbrakie's Account of the Witch of Monzie", continued and signed by Grace Grame [Graeme?]; memorandum regarding the Witch of Monzie and the Graeme family, possibly by Grace Grame [1840s]

Kate McNiven (also known as McNieven / Nicniven / Niven), the Witch of Monzie, was nurse to the Graeme family of Inchbrakie, Perthshire. In c. 1715 she was burned at the stake, one of the last women to be executed as a witch in Scotland. Rev George Blair studied at St Andrews. He became pastor of Monzie parish, Perthshire in 1843, but was suspended from the office of holy ministry and resigned the following year. His volume of poetry and prose The Holocaust; or the Witch of Monzie: a poem illustrative of the cruelties of superstition; Lays of Palestine and other poems, to which is prefixed Enchantment Disenchanted; or a treatise on Superstition was published in 1845. He briefly worked as a journalist in Glasgow before travelling abroad and by 1877 was Inspector of Schools in Canada. In the same year, with the backing of influential friends in Canada, he was able to have his sentence of suspension removed by the Presbytery of Auchterarder.

Usually chronological within series.

Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act (2018), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018) and any other relevant legislation or restrictions. Clinical information is closed for 100 years.

The records were found inside a volume of George Blair's The Holocaust; or, The Witch of Monzie KLoc 828.994 18 B 635

Kate McNiven (also known as McNieven / Nicniven / Niven), the Witch of Monzie, was nurse to the Graeme family of Inchbrakie, Perthshire. In c. 1715 she was burned at the stake, one of the last women to be executed as a witch in Scotland. Rev George Blair studied at St Andrews. He became pastor of Monzie parish, Perthshire in 1843, but was suspended from the office of holy ministry and resigned the following year. His volume of poetry and prose The Holocaust; or the Witch of Monzie: a poem illustrative of the cruelties of superstition; Lays of Palestine and other poems, to which is prefixed Enchantment Disenchanted; or a treatise on Superstition was published in 1845. He briefly worked as a journalist in Glasgow before travelling abroad and by 1877 was Inspector of Schools in Canada. In the same year, with the backing of influential friends in Canada, he was able to have his sentence of suspension removed by the Presbytery of Auchterarder.

The records are on paper

Description compiled by Kenneth Baxter

Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges may be made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply; please check with the Duty Archivist.

Not expected

* KLoc 828.994 18 B 635
* KLoc 828.994 18 B 635

Published

Catalogued

MS 135