Salem Witchcraft, Volumes I and II | Page 3

of the Senate.
DAVID PULSIFER, Esq., in the office of the Secretary of State, is well
known for his pre-eminent skill and experience in mastering the
chirography of the primitive colonial times, and elucidating its
peculiarities. He has been unwearied in his labors, and most earnest in
his efforts, to serve me.
Mr. SAMUEL G. DRAKE, who has so largely illustrated our history
and explored its sources, has, by spontaneous and considerate acts of
courtesy rendered me important help. Similar expressions of friendly
interest by Mr. WILLIAM B. TOWNE, of Brookline, Mass.; Hon. J.
HAMMOND TRUMBULL, of Hartford, Conn.; and GEORGE H.
MOORE, Esq., of New-York City,--are gratefully acknowledged.
SAMUEL P. FOWLER, Esq., of Danvers, generously placed at my
disposal his valuable stores of knowledge relating to the subject. The
officers in charge of the original papers, in the Historical Society and
the Essex Institute, have allowed me to examine and use them.
I cordially express my acknowledgments to the Hon. BENJAMIN F.
BROWNE, of Salem, who, retired from public life and the cares of
business, is giving the leisure of his venerable years to the collection,
preservation, and liberal contribution of an unequalled amount of
knowledge respecting our local antiquities.

CHARLES W. PALFRAY, Esq., while attending the General Court as
a Representative of Salem, in 1866, gave me the great benefit of his
explorations among the records and papers in the State House.
Mr. MOSES PRINCE, of Danvers Centre, is an embodiment of the
history, genealogy, and traditions of that locality, and has taken an
active and zealous interest in the preparation of this work. ANDREW
NICHOLS, Esq., of Danvers, and the family of the late Colonel
PERLEY PUTNAM, of Salem, also rendered me much aid.
I am indebted to CHARLES DAVIS, Esq., of Beverly, for the use of
the record-book of the church, composed of "the brethren and sisters
belonging to Bass River," gathered Sept. 20, 1667, now the First
Church of Beverly; and to JAMES HILL, Esq., town-clerk of that place,
for access to the records in his charge.
To GILBERT TAPLEY, Esq., chairman of the committee of the parish,
and AUGUSTUS MUDGE, Esq., its clerk, and to the Rev. Mr. RICE,
pastor of the church, at Danvers Centre, I cannot adequately express my
obligations. Without the free use of the original parish and church
record-books with which they intrusted me, and having them constantly
at hand, I could not have begun adequately to tell the story of Salem
Village or the Witchcraft Delusion.
C.W.U.

MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
The map, based upon various local maps and the Coast-Survey chart, is
the result of much personal exploration and perambulation of the
ground. It may claim to be a very exact representation of many of the
original grants and farms. The locality of the houses, mills, and bridges,
in 1692, is given in some cases precisely, and in all with near
approximation. The task has been a difficult one. An original plot of
Governor Endicott's Ipswich River grant, No. III., is in the State House,
and one of the Swinnerton grant, No. XIX., in the Salem town-books.

Neither of them, however, affords elements by which to establish its
exact location. A plot of the Townsend Bishop grant, No. XX., as its
boundaries were finally determined, is in the State House, and another
of the same in the court-files of the county. This gives one fixed and
known point, Hadlock's Bridge, from which, following the lines by
points of compass and distances, as indicated on the plot and described
in the Colonial Records, all the sides of the grant are laid out with
accuracy, and its place on the map determined with absolute certainty.
A very perfect and scientifically executed plan of a part of the
boundary between Salem and Reading in 1666 is in the State House; of
which an exact tracing was kindly furnished by Mr. H.J. COOLIDGE,
of the Secretary of State's office. It gives two of the sides of the
Governor Bellingham grant, No. IV., in such a manner as to afford the
means of projecting it with entire certainty, and fixing its locality.
There are no other plots of original or early grants or farms on this
territory; but, starting from the Bishop and Bellingham grants thus laid
out in their respective places, by a collation of deeds of conveyance and
partition on record, with the aid of portions of the primitive stone-walls
still remaining, and measurements resting on permanent objects, the
entire region has been reduced to a demarkation comprehending the
whole area. The locations of then-existing roads have been obtained
from the returns of laying-out committees, and other evidence in the
records and files. The construction of the map, in all its details, is the
result of the researches and labors of W.P. UPHAM.