On 2/3/04 (11:22:09 PM MST), in a posting to the Suffolk County Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYSUFFOL-L@rootsweb.com, Doreen (kem462@yahoo.com) asked, "Could someone be kind enough to do a lookup for me? Peter Healey of Mastic Beach died Feb. 1987. I know he had one daughter named Margarite." For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library: Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library 407 William Floyd Parkway Shirley, NY 11967 Tel: 631/399-1511 Fax: 631/???-???? eMail: ????? http://www.communitylibrary.org/ The pertinent geography: Mastic Beach is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the southeastern section of the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. There are 8 villages (municipal corporations) and 36 hamlets all or partly in the Town of Brookhaven. 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 Mastic Beach in the Town of Brookhaven is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Mastic; on the east and south by the Great South Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Shirley. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Mastic Beach has a different border than does the "Mastic Beach, NY 11951" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Mastic Beach mailing address and not be in Mastic Beach and a place can have other than a Mastic Beach mailing address and be in Mastic Beach). Those places that have a "Mastic Beach, NY" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Mastic Beach are in the Hamlet of Mastic; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Mastic Beach with a "Shirley, NY 11967" mailing address. For those who have their copy of the 2002 or earlier editions 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 Mastic Beach in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 24 (map) and 25 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Happy Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish Arbor Day celebrating the New Year for trees (begins Friday, February 6 at sunset), 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.