An essay on the origin of the Linnaean society of Lancaster city and county, its objects and progress. Read before the association on its 4th anniversary, at the Athenaeum rooms, February 24th, 1866
"On April 17, 1865, eighteen year old John Rakestraw left the family farm in Bart Township, Lancaster County, to attend Unionville Academy, a small Quaker boarding school in Chester County. During the time he was away his two older sisters wrote to him regularly. Ten of those letters have survived and they provide a candid and often painfully honest glimpse of life on a Lancaster County farm in the 1860's. Diaries and ledgers kept by John's father, William I. Rakestraw , provide additional insight into that that time and place." [excerpt from the text]
The following mills are discussed: Martic Forge Mill; Horse Hollow Mill/Pequea Roller Mill/Sickman's Mill; Burnt Mill; Millvale Mill/Baumgardener's Mill; and Goods Mill. "Although the Goods were primarily farmers, they were also involved in milling, lime burning, distilling, and taverns, and were involved in local and county government. John J. Good, known as Squire Good, was a Justice of the Peace. His courtroom was in a tavern he owned."
