Tibbie Tamson was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 woman, who lived in Selkirk, in the Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

, in the 18th century. Her grave is located on a hillside, around 1.5 miles north of Selkirk, at . While Tamson certainly did exist, and is recorded as dying in 1790, few facts are known about her. Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...

 recognise her existence. Each year, members of the Selkirk Common Riding

Common Riding

Common Riding is an annual event celebrated in Scottish Border towns and in some other places, to commemorate the times of the past when local men risked their lives in order to protect their town and people.- Hawick :...

 Organisation place a wreath in remembrance of her.

Several different stories surround Tibbie Tamson, which attempt to explain why she was buried in such an isolated spot. The four most prevalent theories are:

1. she was executed for witchcraft
   Witchcraft
   Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
   
   ;
2. she committed suicide
   Suicide
   Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
   
    and was denied Christian burial;
3. she was a victim of plague;
4. she was a victim of murder
   Murder
   Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
   
   .

The execution theory

It is debated that Tibbie Tamson was an executed criminal, found guilty of witchcraft

Witchcraft

Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...

 and sentenced to death by being burnt at the stake. This theory states that, owing to her unholy activities, her body was buried outside the town as was the legal custom. If this is true, this would explain her being buried close to, but not in, the neighbouring town of Philiphaugh, as well as outside Selkirk. Most people in Selkirk tend to hold this position although, it could be a confusion with a certain Megan Lawson who was recorded by the Scottish courts as being executed by strangulation and burned for being an alleged witch in Selkirk's town square around the same time. Some reject Tibbie Tamson as being executed for witchcraft because of its implications for the town's history.

The suicide theory

This theory is the one preferred by Historic Scotland. The theory states that she was mentally and/or intellectually challenged. Due to this she would have been tormented and treated with contempt in her community. When Tibbie stole a piece of yarn, she was summoned to the sheriff court

Sheriff Court

Sheriff courts provide the local court service in Scotland, with each court serving a sheriff court district within a sheriffdom.Sheriff courts deal with a myriad of legal procedures which include:*Solemn and Summary Criminal cases...

 to face trial. When found guilty of this petty offence, which she did not fully understand, she would have been taunted and tormented even more. This seems to have been the tipping point where due to embarrassment, she is said to have gone home and hanged herself.

Suicide not being tolerated or looked upon compassionately at that time, she would have been posthumously punished by the Scottish courts by being buried in non-consecrated ground outside the town.

When a servant of the local landowner, the Duke of Buccleuch

Duke of Buccleuch

The title Duke of Buccleuch , formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 20 April 1663 for the Duke of Monmouth, who was the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II of Scotland, England, and Ireland and who had married Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch.Anne...

, a Mr. Michael Stewart, dug up her grave in an effort to give her a dignified interment, he found the body was clothed, and had a penny and a farthing inside her pocket. He later reburied her, with a small Christian ceremony, and laid a crude headstone on her place of burial which can still be seen today. All this suggests that she could not have been burned.

It is also worthy of note that Mr. Stewart mentions her body was refused interment in the 'Auld Kirk yard', and turned over to the Selkirk Burgh constable to be placed outside the town for the crime of "self murder". This was said to have been reported by Mr. Stewart approximately 90 years after her ordeal. If this is true it may be very reliable evidence from a potential eye witness, however Mr. Stewart would be one hundred years old if he did witness it when he reported it, this is highly unlikely but cannot be fully dismissed on grounds that it is not impossible.

The plague theory

This theory is considered the least likely. It has been theorised that Tibbie Tamson might have been a plague victim, who was buried outside the town to stop the spread of infection. if this were true one would expect to find more towns people buried outside the town.

The murder theory

A new theory that has emerged states that she could have been murdered, and her death made to look like a suicide. Certainly if this was true, it is highly likely that such a case would have been seen as suicide due to almost scant policing and forensic knowledge. The prime suspects would be the plaintiff, who had their yarn stolen, somebody else who did not agree with the verdict, or another who just killed her for an unknown intention. This theory while having no evidence can not be dismissed as it is both sensible and plausible.