On 5/11/04 (9:47:37 AM MDT), in a posting to NYSUFFOL-L@rootsweb.com, Angelique (amckeag@blueyonder.co.uk) asked, "I have found the death certificate of my gg grandfather John McDermott who passed away on 5 March 1924 in Northport, Suffolk County, NY . How would I go about discovering whether he left a will when he died? If he did not leave a will, would there still be some kind of file of his death besides his actual death certificate? I know that he left a widow and several children. I do not know if they owned their own home at the time. I was hoping that a will might provide a bit more of a picture of their family life." For the will, you might want to contact the County Clerk's office: County Clerk's Office Suffolk County 310 Center Drive Riverhead, NY 11901-3392 Tel: 631/852-2001 Fax: 631/???-???? eMail: edward.romaine@co.suffolk.ny.us http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp2.cfm?dept=33&id=2041 For a picture of family life, a possible obituary, etc., etc., you may want to contact the Northport-East Northport Public Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Northport-East Northport Public Library 151 Laurel Avenue Northport, NY 11768 Tel: 631/261-6930 Fax: 631/???-???? eMail: nenpl@suffolk.lib.ny.us http://www.nenpl.org/ The pertinent geography: Northport is a village (incorporated in 1894) in the northeast part of the Town of Huntington, in the northwest part of Suffolk County. There are 4 villages and 15 hamlets (unincorporated areas) all or partly in the Town of Huntington. 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 Village of Northport in the Town of Huntington is bordered on the north by the Village of Asharoken and the Hamlet of Fort Salonga; on the east by the Hamlet of Fort Salonga; on the south by the Hamlet of East Northport; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Centerport and Huntington Harbor. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the village and the postal zone that use the same name, have much different borders: There are many places with a "Northport, NY" mailing address that are not in the Village of Northport (most of these places are in the Hamlet of East Northport). For those who have their copy of the 2003 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 Village of Northport (incorporated in 1894) in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 16 (map) and 17 (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.