Wayland Town Crier 7/31/11: 'Wayland A-Z': 'W' is for 'Witchcraft'. Although witchcraft was never practiced in our town, one family connected with it in Salem Village came to reside here at the end of the 17th century. Samuel Parris was the minister of Salem Village, now Danvers, where, in his household and parish, the Salem Witchcraft episode began. Later, in 1716, he became one of Sudbury’s (Wayland) schoolmasters. Classes were held from December to March in his home, the Noyes-Parris house, the town’s oldest remaining dwelling.