1/31/04 (9:28:31 AM MST), in a posting to NY-LONGISLAND-L@rootsweb.com, Paula (DeanPaula@aol.com) asked, "Is there any chance the Huntington Records would have a birth certificate for Fannie May Austin, born in Copaigue Village, Babylon Town May 8, 1883? Or a marriage around that time for Charles E. Austin? He was born June 1856. He married sometime around 1890s, but I think that was his second marriage. Fannie or Fanny is my grandmother, and I would love to find out more about her and who her mother was. I only met her once that I remember. Any records the state may have had on her were destroyed in a fire. Even the church where she married had a fire, so I don't know where to search." Two points: 1. For events that occurred prior to 1872, when the area that is now the Town of Babylon was part of the Town of Huntington, you should contact the Town Clerk for the Town of Huntington. But, bear in mind, that prior to 1881, New York State did not require municipalities to maintain vital statistics. Town Clerk Town of Huntington Huntington Town Hall 100 Main Street Huntington, NY 11743 Tel: 631/351-3206 Fax: 631/351-3205 eMail: clerk@town.huntington.ny.us http://town.huntington.ny.us/ 2. Copiague is not a village (municipal corporation). Copiague is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the Town of Babylon, and for events that occurred in 1872 or later in the Hamlet of Copiague, you should contact the Town Clerk for the Town of Babylon. Office of the Town Clerk Town of Babylon Babylon Town Hall 200 East Sunrise Highway Lindenhurst, NY 11757 Tel: 631/957-3000 Fax: 631/957-7440 eMail: ????? http://www.babylonli.com/contact/index.cfm The pertinent geography: Copiague is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the southwestern part of the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County. There are 3 villages (municipal corporations) and 12 hamlets (unincorporated areas) all or partly in the Town of Babylon. 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 Copiague in the Town of Babylon is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Amityville; on the east by the Village of Lindenhurst; on the south by the Great South Bay; and, on the west by the Village of Amityville. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Copiague has a different border than does the "Copiague, NY 11726" postal zone (i.e., a place can have other than a Copiague mailing address and be in Copiague). There are places in the Hamlet of Copiague with an "Amityville, NY 11701" 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 Copiague in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 18 (map) and 19 (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.