This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/lRB.2ACE/876.1 Message Board Post: On 5/13/05 (7:50:10 PM MDT), in a posting to the Nassau County Ancestry Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYNASSAU-L@rootsweb.com, Susan Ward Arkins (SARK370@aol.com) asked, "Searching for relatives of Mary ABRAMS WARD, Irene WARD KIDDELL, Vivian KIDDELL PHILLIPS possibly of the 5 towns area of Long Island NY. Please read this article printed in Newsday: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lispy0509,0,5737444.story?page=1&coll=ny-li-mezz" According to the NEWSDAY article, Dean Phillips' parents., Lorenzo & Vivian Kiddell Phillips, lived in Inwood, so ... For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Peninsula Public Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Peninsula Public Library 280 Central Avenue Lawrence, NY 11559 Tel: 516/239-3262 Fax: 516/239-8425 eMail: pnlmail@nls.lib.ny.us http://www.nassaulibrary.org/peninsula/index.html The pertinent geography: First named North West Pointers and then Westville, Inwood is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the southwest part of the Town of Hempstead, in the southwest part of Nassau County, adjacent to the Nassau/Queens County line. There are 22 villages (municipal corporations) and 36 hamlets all or partly in 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.) The Hamlet of Inwood is one of the upscale "5 Towns" (none of which are towns) that includes the Village of Lawrence (incorporated in 1897), the Village of Cedarhurst (incorporated in 1910) and the Hamlets of Hewlett and Woodmere. Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Inwood in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Nassau County/Queens County line; on the east by the Village of Cedarhurst; on the south by the Village of Lawrence; and, on the west by the Nassau County/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 Inwood has a different border than does the "Inwood, NY 11096" postal zone (i.e., a place in Inwood can have other than an "Inwood, NY" mailing address). ...........................................acres ......Hamlet of Inwood............1,221 ......Inwood, NY 11096.............977 There are places in Inwood with other than an "Inwood, NY" mailing address. These places may have a "Lawrence, NY" mailing address. Inwood's original ZIP Code "11696" indicated that it was a station (branch) of the Far Rockaway, NY post office, because all "116" ZIP Codes are in the Far Rockaway post office. All the other Far Rockaway stations are in the Borough of Queens, NYC and hence, as computers became more prominent in recent years, to many computers, such as those that sent out Supreme Court jury notices, anyone with a "116" type ZIP Code was likely game for jury duty in Queens County. The residents of Inwood were constantly having to prove that although they had a Far Rockaway post office mailing address, they were not residents of Queens County, they live in Nassau County. Finally, in the late 1990s, the USPS was persuaded to change the ZIP Code to prevent such problems. They replaced "11696" with "11096". For those who have their copy of the 2004 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 Inwood 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.