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/708.1 Message Board Post: On 5/6/03 (8:54:44 AM MDT), in a posting to the Suffolk County Board that was 'gatewayed to [email protected], Michael Kearney ([email protected]) asked, "Does anyone know the whereabouts of interment records or headstone readings of Flanders Cemetery, located in Flanders, Suffolk County, near Riverhead?" For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the Riverhead Free Library: Riverhead Free Library 330 Court Street Riverhead, NY 11901 Voice: 631/727-3228 Fax: 631/727-4762 TTY: 631/369-1605 eMail: [email protected] http://river.suffolk.lib.ny.us/ It's interesting to note that Flanders is one of those many communities on Long Island where the majority of the places in Flanders have other than a "Flanders, NY" mailing address. In this case, no place in Flanders has a "Flanders, NY" mailing address. The pertinent geography: Flanders is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northwest part of the Town of Southampton (along the Southampton/Riverhead town line), Suffolk County. There are currently 6 villages and 17 hamlets all or partly in the Town of Southampton. 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 Flanders in the Town of Southampton is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Riverhead in the Town of Riverhead (the Southampton/Riverhead town line) and by the Great Peconic Bay; on the east by the Hamlet of Hampton Bays; on the south by the Hamlet of East Quogue; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Northampton and the Hamlet of Riverside. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the hamlet and the postal zone that use the same name, have much different borders: In this case there is no "Flanders, NY" postal zone and places in the Hamlet of Flanders have other than a "Flanders, NY" mailing address (these places have a "Riverhead, NY 11901" 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 Flanders in the Town of Southampton, Suffolk County on pages 15 & 28 (map) and 29 (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.