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/WUB.2ACI/1257.2 Message Board Post: On 11/27/04 (2:48:49 PM MST), in a posting to the Queens County Ancestry Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYQUEENS-L@rootsweb.com, Janet Wood (gigagirl@comcast.net) asked, "I have found reference to ancestors who lived in "Trimming Square", which I know was Hempstead Town, Queens Co. back in the mid 1800's. Does anyone have any info. about more specific location of what was once called Trimming Square?" Expanding on what George P. Miller (George.p.miller@queenslibrary.org) wrote, "Franklin Square & Munson area in current Nassau County": First, on January 1, 1899, the eastern three-quarters of Queens County (the Towns of North Hempstead, Hempstead and Oyster Bay) seceded and formed Nassau County. Second, concomitant with the 1950 Census, the Hamlet of Munson was absorbed into the Hamlet of Franklin Square. For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Franklin Square Public Library (the library can suggest which local newspaper might have this information and other possible sources of information): Franklin Square Public Library 19 Lincoln Road Franklin Square, NY 11010 Tel: 516/488-3444 Fax: 516/???-???? eMail: esplref@lilrc.org http://www.nassaulibrary.org/fsquare/fsplfrme.htm The pertinent geography: Franklin Square is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northwestern section of the Town of Hempstead, in the western part of Nassau County. 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 Franklin Square in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Villages of Stewart Manor and Garden City and the Hamlet of South Garden City; on the east by the Hamlets of South Garden City and West Hempstead; on the south by the Village of Malverne and the Hamlet of North Valley Stream; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Elmont. And, as occurs in all but one of Nassau County's 136 communities (2 cities, 64 villages and 70 hamlets), the Hamlet of Franklin Square has a different border than does the "Franklin Square, NY 11010" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Franklin Square mailing address and not be in Franklin Square and a place can be in Franklin Square and have other than a Franklin Square mailing address). .................................................acres .....Hamlet of Franklin Square.......1,837 .....Franklin Square, NY 11010.....1,555 As you can see, about 1 out of every 7 places in the Hamlet of Franklin Square have other than a Franklin Square mailing address. (These places may have a Garden City, NY 11530 or an Elmont, NY 11003 mailing address.) For those who have their copy of the 2003 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 Franklin Square 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.