In a message dated 10/29/2008 11:50:42 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, ctmoser.mj@att.net writes: For those of you who live in large states, all our towns run together. There are no unincorporated spaces. For instance, from the 1600's through the 1800, shipping and boat travel were major industries in the state. Boat were small enough to go up the Connecticut River to Hartford and even further up. Norwich in eastern Connecticut is on a river and was accessible by boat. Travel by land was not difficult either. You make a very good point about the town boundaries. Often times a man might own a number of acres of land, all contiguous but perhaps bought at different times, with part of them in one town and county, and the rest in another town and county. All this land might appear to be one parcel, but the records for half of it would be in one Town Clerk's office and the others in the next. Then of course you might find that the owner was described as "John C. Reed of Durham" and in a year or so be called "John C. Reed" of Wallingford all without having moved an inch. The Boston Post Road had at least two branches as I understand it as it came down from Massachusetts, and the stage coaches made regular trips from Boston to New Haven, delivering mail and passengers. The taverns where they stopped along the way to drop the mail and partake of refreshment and water and feed the horses was a meeting place and news traveled surprisingly fast. Another benefit of a small state. Some of the town boundaries in Connecticut fall along natural boundaries such as a mountain, a river, or some other natural feature. It is very interesting and helpful to use topographical maps online to look at the area where you believe your ancestor to have lived to see what part of the land he could have farmed, and what part lent itself to access to transportation such as a river or railroad. Family cemeteries were often placed on high rocky land that was difficult to plough. Swamps produced mosquitoes which of course spread fevers and were hazardous to the health in other ways as well. Cholera was a scourge as well. All you have to do is look at some of those old photos on the CT History site where the well sweep stood beside the barn to realize how difficult it would be to ensure the purity of water. Carol **************Plan your next getaway with AOL Travel. Check out Today's Hot 5 Travel Deals! (http://travel.aol.com/discount-travel?ncid=emlcntustrav00000001)