On 2/25/04 (2:50:23 PM MST), in a posting to the Nassau County Ancestry Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYNASSAU-L@rootsweb.com, Frank (fsomers76@hotmail.com) asked, "I am seeking the parents of Samuel R. Smith b. About 1773, d. January 1850 in Merrick, Long island. Samuel married Elizabeth Nicolls on 1 September 1807 at Christ's Presbyterian Church and had the following children that I know of: Henry Smith b. about 1811 d. 7 March 1892, Lucy Smith b. about 1812 d. 26 August 1896, Gerardus N. Smith b. about 1816 d. 1 August 1853, Charles Augustus Smith b. Nov. 1819 d. ?, Ruth Smith b. 22 Jan. 1822 d. 24 Nov. 1904, Treadwell Smith b. about 1831 d. ?, Chauncey M. Smith b. 29 March 1834 d. 14 July 1912. When Samuel died in 1850 he was a farmer and owned about 200 acres of land in Merrick. Family tradition is that Samuel was a Rock Smith." For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Merrick Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): The Merrick Library 2279 Merrick Ave. Merrick, NY 11566 Tel: 516/379-3476 Fax: 516/868-6230 eMail: ????? http://www.nassaulibrary.org/merrick/ The pertinent geography: Merrick is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the center-south section of the Town of Hempstead, in the central-south part of Nassau County. There are 22 villages (municipal corporations) and 36 hamlets all or partly within the Town of Hempstead. There are 2 cities and 3 towns in 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.) Beginning on its northern border and proceeding clockwise: The Hamlet of Merrick in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Merrick and the Hamlet of North Bellmore; on the east by the Hamlet of Bellmore; on the south by the offshore islands scattered in the Great South Bay; and, on the west by the Village of Freeport. And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Hamlet of Merrick has a different border than does the "Merrick, NY 11566" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Merrick mailing address and not be in Merrick and a place can be in Merrick and have other than a Merrick mailing address). .......................................acres .....Hamlet of Merrick........2,647 .....Merrick, NY 11566......3,860 As you can observe, 1 out of 3 places with a Merrick mailing address is not in Merrick. These places are in parts of the Hamlets of North Merrick and North Bellmore; and, at the same time, there are places that are in Merrick that have a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address. For those who have their copy of the 2002 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 Merrick in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County on pages 5 & 8 (map) and 9 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Regards, 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.