On 4/30/03 (2:06:23 PM MDT), [email protected] asked, "My grandfathers baptismal records are for a church in Bellport, Long Island (Suffolk County). Might anyone be available to do lookups for records for the other family members?" The pertinent geography: The Village of Bellport (incorporated in 1908) is in the southwestern part of the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. There are 8 villages (incorporated municipalities) 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 Bellport in the Town of Brookhaven is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Bellport and the Hamlet of Brookhaven; on the east and south by the Great South Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of East Patchogue. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the village and the postal zone that use the same name, have different borders. Places with a Bellport mailing address may not be in Bellport. These places with a Bellport mailing address that are not in the Village of Bellport are in the Hamlet of East Patchogue and the Hamlet of North Bellport, and there may be places that are in the Village of Bellport that have a Patchogue mailing address. For those who have their copy of the 2002 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 Bellport (incorporated in 1908) 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.