On 6/9/05 (11:23:16 AM MDT), in a posting to NYNASSAU-L@rootsweb.com, Marj (meg123@webtv.net) asked, "I am looking for a marriage record that occured in 1857/8 in Port Jefferson, Brookhaven, LI. Does anyone have information about the Catholic churches in that area around that time period?" First, Port Jefferson then a hamlet and now a village, has always been in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk, not Nassau, County. Second, because this event occurred prior to Port Jefferson becoming a village and even prior to the NYS law of 1881 that required municipalities to main such records, the record MAY be at the Town Clerk for the Town of Brookhaven: Town Clerk Town of Brookhaven Brookhaven Town Hall One Independence Hill Farmingville, NY 11738 Tel: 631/451-9101 Fax: 631/451-9264 eMail: TOWNCLERK@BROOKHAVEN.ORG http://www.brookhaven.org/departments/town_clerk.asp?dept_id=15&page_id=15 Third, for questions such as yours about what Roman Catholic Church was in the area circa the 1857/58, you may want to contact the Port Jefferson Free Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Port Jefferson Free Library 100 Thompson Street Port Jefferson, NY 11777 Tel: 631/473-0022 Fax: 631/???-???? eMail: ?????? http://pjfl.suffolk.lib.ny.us/ The pertinent geography: The Village of Port Jefferson (incorporated in 1963) is in the northwest part of the Town of Brookhaven, in the north-central part of Suffolk County. There are 8 villages (municipal corporations) and 36 hamlets (unincorporated areas) all or partly in the Town of Brookhaven. 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 Port Jefferson in the Town of Brookhaven is bordered on the north by the Village of Poquott, Port Jefferson Harbor, the Village of Belle Terre and Long Island Sound; on the east by the Hamlet of Miller Place and the Hamlet of Mount Sinai; on the south by the Hamlet of Port Jefferson Station; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Setauket. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Village of Port Jefferson has a different border than does the "Port Jefferson, NY 11777" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Port Jefferson mailing address and not be in Port Jefferson and a place can have other than a Port Jefferson mailing address and be in Port Jefferson). Those places that have a "Port Jefferson, NY" mailing address that are not in the Village of Port Jefferson are in the Village of Belle Terre; and, at the same time, there are places in the Village of Port Jefferson with a "Mount Sinai, NY 11766" or a "Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776" mailing address. 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 Port Jefferson (incorporated in 1963) in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 24 (map) and 25 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. 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.