On 8/23/03 (8:09:35 AM MDT), Barbara ([email protected]) asked, "Where would be the best place to look for Southold records, i.e. birth, marriage, death, wills, deeds, administration papers and militia records?" For birth, marriage and death, you'll want to ask the Town Clerk for the Town of Southold: Town Clerk Southold Town Hall P.O. Box 1179 53095 Main Road Southold, NY 11971 Tel: 631/765-1981 Fax: 631/765-1823 eMail: ????? http://www.northfork.net/southold/ For wills, deed and other such documents, you'll want to ask the County Clerk for Suffolk County: County Clerk's Office Suffolk County 310 Center Drive Riverhead, NY 11901-3392 Tel: 631/852-2001 Fax: 631/???-???? eMail: [email protected] http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp2.cfm?dept=33&id=2041 The pertinent geography: Southold is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the center of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County. There are 1 village 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 Southold in the Town of Southold is bordered on the north by Long Island Sound; on the east by the Hamlet of Greenport West; on the south by the Little Peconic Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Peconic. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Southold has a different border than does the "Southold, NY 11971" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Southold mailing address and not be in Southold and a place can have other than a Southold mailing address and be in Southold). Those places that have a "Southold, NY" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Southold are in the Hamlet of West Greenport; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Southold with a "Peconic, NY 11936" 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 Hamlet of Southold 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 5764, 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.