On 8/16/05 (8:05:03 PM MDT), in a posting to NYNASSAU-L@rootsweb.com, Virginia Miller (vjmill@telus.net) asked, "I am looking for information about John Sterling and his wife, Isabella Boyd who was my grandfather's sister. They were married in Limavady, Derry, Ireland in 1888. I believe that they left for the U.S. shortly after. In the 1910 census they were living on Shore Road in Oyster Bay. In the 1920 census they were on Center Island and John was employed as a gardener perhaps on an estate. There were 3 children born in the U.S.--Joseph, Charles and Isabella. In a probate of an Irish will there is also listed a Rebecca Sjostrom whom I thought might be a married daughter, but I can find no other record of her. I would be interested to know if anyone has information about this family or could direct me. And also I would like to know more about where John might have been working." For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library 89 East Main Street Oyster Bay 11771 Tel: 516/922-1212 Fax: 516/922-6453 eMail: ??????? http://www.nassaulibrary.org/oysterbay/index.html Centre Island is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the village name in their mailing address. The pertinent geography: Centre Island is a village (incorporated in 1926) in the most northern part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the northeast part of Nassau County. There are 18 villages (municipal corporations) and 18 hamlets (unincorporated areas) all or partly within the Town of Oyster Bay. 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 Village of Centre Island in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north and east by Long Island Sound; on the south by Oyster Bay; and, on the west by Oyster Bay and the Village of Bayville. And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Village of Centre Island has a different border than does the postal zone that services its area. In this case, there is no "Centre Island, NY" postal zone. .............................................acres ......Village of Centre Island........706 ......Centre Island, NY ?????.....none All places within the Village of Centre Island are in the "Oyster Bay, NY 11771" postal zone (the Oyster Bay postal zone is 7,002 acres and services all or parts of 9 communities: the Village of Centre Island, the Village of Cove Neck, the Hamlet of Oyster Bay, the Village of Oyster Bay Cove, the Village of Laurel Hollow, the Hamlet of East Norwich, the Village of Muttontown, the Village of Upper Brookville and the Village of Mill Neck). 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 Village of Centre Island (incorporated in 1926) in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County on pages 5 & 11 (map) and 12 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. L'Shannah Tovah* & Happy 5766, Walter Greenspan * L'Shannah Tovah (li-SHAH-nuh TOH-vuh; li-shah-NAH toh-VAH) Hebrew. Lit. for a good year. The common greeting during Rosh ha Shannah and the Days of Awe. This is a shortening of "L'Shannah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or, to women, "L'Shannah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." This year, Rosh ha Shannah begins at sunset on Monday, October 3 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.