This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/jUB.2ACI/1074.1 Message Board Post: On 9/11/05 (6:55:42 AM MDT), in a posting to the Suffolk County ancestry Board that was 'gatewayed' to NYSUFFOL-L@rootsweb.com, Tonia Skinner Hannemann (tnotto@earthlink.net) asked, "To what office do I send a request for a copy of a birth recording for mattituck in 1866?" It's my understanding that circa 1866 there was no New York State requirement for local municipalities to maintain such records (those requirements begin in 1881), but if the Town of Southold (Mattituck is a hamlet in the Town of Southold) did, here's the contact info: Town Clerk Town of Southold Southold Town Hall P.O. Box 1179 53095 Main Road Southold, NY 11971 Tel: 631/765-1981 Fax: 631/765-1823 eMail: e.neville@town.southold.ny.us http://southoldtown.northfork.net//town_clerk.htm The pertinent geography: Mattituck is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the western part of the Town of Southold, along the Southold/Riverhead town line, in the northeast part of Suffolk County. There are 1 village (municipal corporation) and 10 hamlets in the Town of Southold. 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 Hamlet of Mattituck in the Town of Southold is bordered on the north by the Long Island Sound; on the east by the Hamlets of Peconic and Cutchogue; on the south by the Peconic Bay and the Hamlet of Laurel; and, on the east by Hamlet of Northville in the Town of Riverhead (the Southold/Riverhead own line). And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Mattituck has a different border than does the "Mattituck, NY 11952" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Mattituck mailing address and not be in Mattituck and a place can have other than a Mattituck mailing address and be in Mattituck). Those places that have a "Mattituck, NY" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Mattituck are in the Hamlet of Laurel and in the Hamlet of Cutchogue; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Mattituck with a "Riverhead, NY 11901" and a "Cutchogue, NY 11935" 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 Hamlet of Mattituck in the Town of Southold, Suffolk County on pages 15 & 30 (map) and 31 (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.