On 6/27/06 (11:33:52 AM MDT), as part of a posting to GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com, Diane (pandreasen@stny.rr.com) asked for information about people in Mattituck-Aquebogue Parishes, Suffolk, NY, late 1600s/early 1700s. Mattituck and Aquebogue are hamlets (unincorporated areas) in the Town of Southold and the Town of Riverhead, respectively. The Town of Riverhead seceded from the Town of Southold on March 13, 1772. (The Town of Shelter Island, too, had once been part of the Town of Southold and it seceded in the 1720s.) For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Mattituck-Laurel Library and the Riverhead Free Library the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Mattituck-Laurel Library P.O. Box 1437 Mattituck NY 11952 Tel: 631/298-4134 Fax: 631/298-4764 eMail a Reference Question: http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/libraries/matt/askref.htm http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/libraries/matt/ Riverhead Free Library 330 Court Street Riverhead, NY 11901 Tel: 631/727-3228 Fax: 631/727-4762 eMail: rflref@suffolk.lib.ny.us http://river.suffolk.lib.ny.us/ The pertinent current geography for Mattituck: Mattituck is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the west part of the Town of Southold, along the Southold/Riverhead town line, in the northeast part of Suffolk County. There are 1 village (municipal corporation) and 10 hamlets (unincorporated areas) in the Town of Southold. There are no cities and 10 towns in Suffolk County. There are 2 Indian reservations in Suffolk County. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.) Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Mattituck in the Town of Southold is bordered on the north by the Long Island Sound; on the east by the Hamlets of Peconic and Cutchogue; on the south by the Peconic Bay and the Hamlet of Laurel; and, on the west by Hamlet of Northville in the Town of Riverhead (the Southold/Riverhead own line). And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 32 villages and 125 hamlets), the Hamlet of Mattituck has a different border than does the "Mattituck, NY 11952" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Mattituck mailing address and not be in Mattituck and a place can have other than a Mattituck mailing address and be in Mattituck). Those places that have a "Mattituck, NY" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Mattituck are in the Hamlet of Laurel and in the Hamlet of Cutchogue; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Mattituck with a "Riverhead, NY 11901" and a "Cutchogue, NY 11935" mailing address. The pertinent current geography for Aquebogue: Together with the Hamlet of Jamesport and Laurel and once part of the no-longer Hamlet of Franklinville, Aquebogue is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the southeast part of the Town of Riverhead, in the northeast part of Suffolk County. There are no villages (municipal corporations) and 7 hamlets (unincorporated areas) all or partly in the Town of Riverhead (Riverhead is the only town in either Suffolk or Nassau County without any villages within its borders). There are no cities and 10 towns in Suffolk County. There are 2 Indian reservations in Suffolk County. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.) Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Aquebogue in the Town of Riverhead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet Northville; on the east by the Hamlet of Jamesport; on the south by the Great Peconic Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Riverhead. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 32 villages and 125 hamlets), the hamlet and the postal zone that use the same name, have different borders. There are places with a "Aquebogue, NY 11931" mailing address that are not in Aquebogue and these places appear to be in the Hamlet of Riverhead. For those who have their copy of the 2005 or earlier edition of the LI Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island Power Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to access and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of Mattituck in the Town of Southold, Suffolk County on pages 15 & 30 (map) and 31 (population estimate) and you'll find the Hamlet of Aquebogue in the Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 26 (map) and 27 (population estimate).. I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Regards, 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.