On 11/22/03 (11:30:17 AM MST), Harriet (harcardinal@earthlink.net) asked, "I have been searching for years for a marriage application/license and wonder if anyone can offer any suggestions. The marriage took place in April, 1900, at a Roman Catholic church in Far Rockaway and I have the church record. What I need is the marriage application/license." Where did the bride and groom live prior to their wedding? They may have taken out the license in the county where either of them had been living prior to marriage. The geographic history of Far Rockaway: Circa 1900, Far Rockaway was a neighborhood in the Borough of Queens in NYC. >From 1888 through 1997, Far Rockaway was a village (municipal corporation) in the Town of Hempstead, Queens County. On January 1, 1898, when the western-quarter of the Queens County was annexed by New York City, the Far Rockaway peninsula left the Town of Hempstead and, along with the City of Long Island City and the Towns of Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica became that part of Queens which was now within the jurisdiction of NYC. (A year later, the eastern three-quarters of Queens seceded and became Nassau 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 . 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.