William P. Upham

“ The "bars as you go into the Philip H. Saunders place" are still there, and the way through is still used and marks the place where in 1708 John Higginson 3d and Hannah wife, in conveying to Daniel and Lawrence Southwick the nine acre lot next east of Procter's lot, reserved the liberty of a "highway of one pole wide at the western end of said land to be for ye use of Anthony Needham Sen," "they to maintain a pair of sufficient bars next ye common highway so long as they use the same." ”

“ Two hundred years ago the Saunders place, formerly the Marsh pasture, was part of the large tract of homestead land owned by Anthony Needham. This Needham land included eight acres of land conveyed by Anthony Needham to his son-in-law, Thomas Gould, 26 Sept., 1705, and conveyed to Thomas Gardner 27 Jan., 1743, by George Gould, the son of Thomas Gould. The eight acre lot descended to John Gardner and from him to John Gardner Walcott, and is where John G. Walcott, Jun., now lives. ”

“ The uniform family tradition that John Procter was [Pg 7] buried in the locality I have thus described, is confirmed in my mind from a consideration of certain facts, bearing with more or less definiteness upon the question, which I will endeavor briefly to recite.
It is well known that the victims executed as witches on Gallows Hill in Salem, in 1692, were thrown into mere shallow graves or crevices in the ledge under the gallows, where the nature of the ground did not allow complete burial, so that it was stated at the time that portions of the bodies were hardly covered at all. ”

“ In 1689 John Procter "for my love and parental affection unto my beloved wife Elizabeth Procter and all her children" conveys to certain trustees for their benefit "all my estate for their supply and maintenance and make over and give to them my house and land lying in Salem bounds containing fifteen acres, more or less, bounded with ye land of Anthony Needham northwest and east southerly [D] and south and west with ye common road or highway in part and partly alsoe with land of John Marsh and some land of Thomas Gardner Sen. that comes within the highway." ”

“ The bounds described in these depositions are those of the "Flint pasture" and have remained substantially unchanged to the present day, as is evident to the eye, for, in passing along Lowell Street one can see plainly the old and venerable looking stone wall beginning at "Morey's Bound" on the top of the high rock and running along in a westerly direction at about twenty rods distance northerly from the street. ”

“ This controversy was probably between Anthony Needham and John Procter as tenant of the Downing Farm, as appears by an action at the Salem Court, Nov., 1685, for damage done to John Procter in claiming "land belonging to the plaintiff as being in possession of, and hiring the said land of the Worshipful Symon Bradstreet Esq.," said land being part of a farm "formerly belonging to Mr. ”

“ Thomas Gardner and Jeffry Massey (who by virtue of a grant of 200 acres due unto Mr. Bacon [A] ) when they went to lay out the said 200 acres I this deponent went with them, where cominge upon the land neere adjoyning to the farm called Mr. ”