On 2/10/04 (7:46:28 PM MST), in a posting to the Nassau County Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYNASSAU-L@rootsweb.com, Ken Simpson (ksimpson@optonline.net) asked, "Looking for any information on the Cemetary on Oakfield Road (Ave?) in Wantagh. It had been part of the Zion Church that was once there and contains the resting place of Civil War Veterans and Slaves. Any information anyone could give on this would be gratefully appreciated." For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Wantagh Public Library: Wantagh Public Library 3285 Park Avenue Wantagh, NY 11793 Tel: 516/221-1200 Fax: 516/826-9357 eMail: wantaghpl@yahoo.com http://www.nassaulibrary.org/wantagh/ The pertinent geography: Wantagh is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the southeast section of the Town of Hempstead. 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 Wantagh in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Wantagh; on the east by the Hamlet of Seaford; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean; and, on the west by the Hamlets of Bellmore and North Bellmore. And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Hamlet of Wantagh has a different border than does the "Wantagh, NY 11793" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Wantagh mailing address and not be in Wantagh). ......................................acres ......Hamlet of Wantagh......2,534 ......Wantagh, NY 11793....3,782* * Area does not include off-shore islands. About 1 out of every 3 places with a "Wantagh, NY" mailing address are not in the Hamlet of Wantagh. (These places that have a "Wantagh, NY" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Wantagh are in the Hamlets of Seaford, Bellmore, North Bellmore, North Wantagh and Levittown.) 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 Wantagh 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.