A small clarification of the use of village/hamlet in New York: A village is a political subdivision with defined boundaries and local government. A hamlet has no defined borders or local government. Most villages are completely within one town but some include parts of more than one town. The Village of Brockport, Monroe Co., where I'm from, is mostly in the Town of Sweden but a small part of it is in the Town of Clarkson. That can cause some confusion. I was born in the Village of Brockport, Town of Sweden and my birth was registered in Brockport. After I was born they built a new hospital just over the town line and my sister's birth was registered in Clarkson. Brockport subsequently annexed the new hospital (although it's still in the Town of Clarkson) and later births there were registered in Brockport. (To confuse things even more, Monroe Co. is one of several in NY that have since taken over registration of births and deaths but not marriages.) I don't know of any villages in more than one county. There are also a few places in New York (e.g. East Rochester) that are legally both a village and a town with the same boundaries and governing board. -----Original Message----- From: DIFlynn@aol.com [mailto:DIFlynn@aol.com] Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 5:32 PM To: nyononda@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NYONONDA] Onondaga town,definition of town and email subject lines A reminder for those of us who live outside of NY state: The word "town" refers to a civil subdivision of a county -- a basic unit of local government in the states of New England and in the mid-Atlantic state of New York. Towns have a town clerk, a town hall, a town supervisor, etc. A small populated place within a town is a village. A really small populated place is a hamlet. The word "town" is NOT synonymous with or interchangeable with "city," "village" or "hamlet." Examples: Syracuse is a CITY in the COUNTY of Onondaga. Howlett Hill is a HAMLET in the TOWN of Onondaga, COUNTY of Onondaga. The VILLAGE of Camillus is in the TOWN of Camillus, COUNTY of Onondaga. Hope this helps. Diane Wilson Flynn ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

Great description. Villages may cross county borders, but there only a handful. For example the Village of Saranac Lake lies in 3 towns Harrietstown, St Armand and North Elba) and 2 counties (Essex and Franklin) ----- Original Message ----- From: Gary Welch To: nyononda@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 4:14 PM Subject: Re: [NYONONDA] Definition of town A small clarification of the use of village/hamlet in New York: A village is a political subdivision with defined boundaries and local government. A hamlet has no defined borders or local government. Most villages are completely within one town but some include parts of more than one town. The Village of Brockport, Monroe Co., where I'm from, is mostly in the Town of Sweden but a small part of it is in the Town of Clarkson. That can cause some confusion. I was born in the Village of Brockport, Town of Sweden and my birth was registered in Brockport. After I was born they built a new hospital just over the town line and my sister's birth was registered in Clarkson. Brockport subsequently annexed the new hospital (although it's still in the Town of Clarkson) and later births there were registered in Brockport. (To confuse things even more, Monroe Co. is one of several in NY that have since taken over registration of births and deaths but not marriages.) I don't know of any villages in more than one county. There are also a few places in New York (e.g. East Rochester) that are legally both a village and a town with the same boundaries and governing board. -----Original Message----- From: DIFlynn@aol.com [mailto:DIFlynn@aol.com] Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 5:32 PM To: nyononda@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NYONONDA] Onondaga town,definition of town and email subject lines A reminder for those of us who live outside of NY state: The word "town" refers to a civil subdivision of a county -- a basic unit of local government in the states of New England and in the mid-Atlantic state of New York. Towns have a town clerk, a town hall, a town supervisor, etc. A small populated place within a town is a village. A really small populated place is a hamlet. The word "town" is NOT synonymous with or interchangeable with "city," "village" or "hamlet." Examples: Syracuse is a CITY in the COUNTY of Onondaga. Howlett Hill is a HAMLET in the TOWN of Onondaga, COUNTY of Onondaga. The VILLAGE of Camillus is in the TOWN of Camillus, COUNTY of Onondaga. Hope this helps. Diane Wilson Flynn ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYONONDA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message