On 5/23/04 (4:41:33 AM MDT), as part of a posting to NYSUFFOL-L@rootsweb.com, Lillian Kathleen Martin (malik@scs-net.org) asked, "My oldest Mills ancestor is Gideon Mills b. 1798 New York. He settled eventually in Fulton Co IL and raised a large family, and died there 1879. I believe he is shown on the 1820 census, at Smithtown, Suffolk Co., NY. Is there ANYONE researching any of these men, or at least any Mills family of Smithtown, NY ???? The area may be known as "Mills Pond", Long Island. For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Smithtown Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Smithtown Library (Main Branch) 1 North Country Road Smithtown, New York 11787 Tel: 631/265-2072 Fax: 631/???-???? eMail: ?????? http://www.smithlib.org/ The pertinent geography: Smithtown is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the center part of the Town of Smithtown, in the northwest part of Suffolk County. There are 3 villages (incorporated municipalities) and 8 hamlets all or partly in the Town of Smithtown. 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 Smithtown in the Town of Smithtown is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Kings Park and the Village of Nissequogue; on the east the Village of Head of the Harbor. the Hamlet of St. James, the Village of the Branch and the Hamlet of Nesconset; on the south by the Hamlets of Hauppauge and the Hamlet of Commack; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Commack and the Hamlet of Kings Park. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Smithtown has a different border than does the "Smithtown, NY" postal zone. There are places that have a "Smithtown, NY 11787" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Smithtown. These places are in the Village of the Branch and the Village of Nissequogue, as well as in the Hamlets of St. James and Nesconset. 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 Hamlet of Smithtown in the Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 22 (map) and 23 (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 place shave a different community name in their mailing address than the community where that place is actually located.