On 4/1/04 (2:47:25 PM MST), in a posting to the Nassau County Ancestry Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYNASSAU-L@rootsweb.com, Madeline Bovery Galbraith (madgalb@yahoo.com) asked, "Looking for any information on John Elder, *1887, +1975 whose last residence was zip 115l8/East Rockaway. Possible wife: Eleanor Elder, +1974 same zip. Also, his brother, Wolfgang Elder, *1903, + 1981, whose last residence was zip 11003/Elmont. There was another brother, Joseph Elder, *1895, +unk, who was physically disabled." For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the East Rockaway Public Library and the Elmont Public Library (the respective libraries can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): East Rockaway Public Library 477 Atlantic Avenue East Rockaway, NY 11518 Tel: 516/599-1664 Fax: 516/596-0154 eMail: eastrockpl@yahoo.com http://www.nassaulibrary.org/eastrock/ Elmont Public Library 1735 Hempstead Turnpike Elmont, NY 11003-1896 Tel: 516/354-5280 Fax: 516/354-3276 eMail: jschoen@epl.lib.ny.us The pertinent geography for East Rockaway: The Village of East Rockaway (incorporated in 1910) is in the southern part of the Town of Hempstead, in the southwest part of Nassau County. There are 36 hamlets (unincorporated areas) and 22 villages 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 the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of East Rockaway in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Village of Lynbrook; on the east by the Village of Rockville Centre and the Hamlet of Oceanside; on the south by the Hamlet of Bay Park and the Village of Hewlett Harbor; and, on the west by the Village of Hewlett Harbor and the Hamlet of Hewlett. And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Village of East Rockaway has a different border than does the "East Rockaway, NY 11518" postal zone (i.e., a place can have an East Rockaway mailing address and not be in East Rockaway). ..................................................acres .....Village of East Rockaway..........667 .....East Rockaway, NY 11518........752 There are places in East Rockaway with other than an "East Rockaway, NY" mailing address and places with an "East Rockaway" mailing address that are not in East Rockaway. The pertinent geography for Elmont: Once called Foster's Meadow, Elmont is Belmont (Belmont Race Track) without the "B". Elmont is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northwest part of the Town of Hempstead, in the west part of Nassau County, along the Nassau/Queens County line. There are 36 hamlets and 22 villages (incorporated municipalities) 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 Elmont in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Bellerose Terrace, the Village of Floral Park, the Village of South Floral Park and the Village of Stewart Manor; on the east by the Hamlet of Franklin Square; on the south by the Hamlet of North Valley Stream; and, on the west by New York City (the Nassau/Queens County line). And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Hamlet of Elmont has a different border than does the "Elmont, NY 11003" postal zone (i.e., a place can have an Elmont mailing address and not be in Elmont and a place can be in Elmont and have other than an Elmont mailing address). ........................................acres ......Hamlet of Elmont.........2,357 ......Elmont, NY 11003........2,791 Thus, a bit more than about 1 in 7 places that have an Elmont mailing address are not in the Hamlet of Elmont (these places are in the Hamlet of Franklin Square). At the same time, there are places in Elmont with other than an Elmont, NY mailing address (these places have a Valley Stream, NY 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 Suffolk County Cooperative Library web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to access and download the report), you'll find the Village of East Rockaway (incorporated in 1910) and the Hamlet of Elmont 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. Wishing all a ziessen Pesach (sweet Passover)*, Walter Greenspan * The 8-day Festival of Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nissan (that's the Babylonian 'Nissan', not the Japanese 'Nissan'), which occurs at sunset on Monday, April 5 on the civil calendar. . 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.