My Mom grew up in Brooklyn and had relatives on Staten Island for many years. Was Richmond Hills ca 1940 part of Staten Island?? I remember too as a little girl that when my NYC relatives referred to the "Island" they meant Long Island. Maureen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ann O'Hara" <yannster@ptd.net> To: <gen-nys@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 7:55 AM Subject: Re: [GEN-NYS] William Douglas Howden > This is very important information. Note the time periods that the > official > designation changed. And my previous comment holds true. No matter what > it > was called legally, it's been called "Staten Island" locally since the > beginning. In my 35+-year residence in New York City, I never once heard > anyone say "I live in Richmond." Naturally, when looking for official > records, it's important to know the legal designation, but much history > (including newspapers) would be missed if one is unaware of the fact that > Richmond is known as Staten Island (a google search on "Staten Island > Genealogy" produces 113,000 sites). > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <Soyamaven@aol.com> > To: <gen-nys@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 8:26 PM > Subject: [GEN-NYS] William Douglas Howden > > >> >> Currently, Richmond County (a political sub-division of New York State) >> is >> coterminous with the Borough (an administrative district of New York >> City) >> of >> Staten Island. >> >>>From 1898 to 1975, what is now called the Borough of Staten Island was >>>called >> the Borough of Richmond. >> >> Geographic History of Richmond County: >> >> Richmond County was one of the original 12 counties created in 1683 when >> the >> General Assembly of Freeholders reorganized the governmental structure in >> all >> of the province of New York into 12 counties, each of which was >> sub-divided >> into towns. (The other counties were Albany, Cornwall, Dukes, Dutchess, >> Kings, >> New York, Orange, Queens, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester.) >> >> >> 1683 >> Richmond County created and includes 4 towns: Castleton, Northfield, >> Southfield and Westfield. >> >> 1860 >> The Town of Middletown is created from parts of the Towns of Castleton >> and >> Southfield. Richmond County now 5 towns: Castleton, Middletown, >> Northfield, >> Southfield and Westfield. >> >> 1866 >> The Village of New Brighton incorporated within the Town of Castleton. >> >> 1872 >> Village of New Brighton becomes coterminous with the Town of Castleton. >> Richmond County still consists of 5 towns: Castleton, Middletown, >> Northfield, >> Southfield and Westfield. >> >> 1898 >> The Borough of Richmond is created and is coterminous with Richmond >> County >> following the consolidation of the City and County of New York, the City >> of >> Brooklyn/Kings County, the western-quarter of Queens County (the City of >> Long >> Island City, the Towns of Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica and the Rockaway >> peninsula >> of the Town of Hempstead) and Richmond County into the new New York City. >> >> 1975 >> The Borough of Richmond is renamed Staten Island and remains coterminous >> with >> Richmond County. >> >> >> I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS >> definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone. >> >> I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Walter Greenspan >> Great Falls, MT & Jericho, NY >> >> >> Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State >> >> New York State is divided into counties. >> >> County >> A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created >> to >> perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are >> divided >> into cities, towns and Indian reservations. >> >> City >> A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. >> Cities >> are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal >> geographic >> areas. >> >> Town >> A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within >> the >> state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be >> sub-divided into villages and hamlets. >> >> Village >> A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily >> by >> the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with >> municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to >> those of a >> city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal >> geographic >> areas. >> >> Hamlet >> A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed >> at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into >> neighborhoods, >> which >> are informal geographic areas. >> >> Postal Zone "City" and "Town" >> A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established >> by >> the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and >> "Town" >> may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community >> borders. >> Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or >> hamlet >> location. >> >> >> Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of >> non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of >> places have a >> different community name in their mailing address than the community >> where >> that >> place is actually located. >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> GEN-NYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >> > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GEN-NYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message