This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: Scismgenie Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties.montgomery/1158.1.1.1.2.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The United States Post Office instituted two letter state abbreviations along with five digit postal codes in 1963. Before that there was no standard abbreviation for a state in any Government documents. After the Postal (later "ZIP") Code standards were adopted the use went global in Government documents. From there it spread into general use. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.