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Subject: [NYSUFFOL] Islip, Suffolk, NY death certs
Date: 2 Aug 2002 07:58:55 -0600


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/548.1

Message Board Post:


On 8/1/02 (11:49:03 PM EDT), in a Message Board Post that was gatewayed to the list, Betty in California () asked,

"My husbands Grandmother, Anna Fortmann, died in Islip, Suffolk, NY in 1946 and we would like to send for her death cert. Can someone tell us where to send for this."


Islip is a hamlet (an unincorporated community) in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County. I'll explain why this is important a bit later in this eMail.

The collection of Vital Records in New York State begin in 1881, and are required to be kept by the city or town, as the case may be, in which the event (birth, death, marriage) occurred and by the state (Albany).

Some of the larger villages do maintain these records, but not all villages do as they may voluntarily waive their right to do so and make it a responsibility of the town(s) in which the village is (are) in. If the place where the event occurred is in a village, the Town Clerk will tell you if the village or the town maintains the record. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.)

Currently, there are 10 towns in Suffolk County:

Huntington
Babylon
Smithtown
Islip
Brookhaven
Riverhead
Southold
Southampton
Shelter Island
East Hampton

There are 2 cities (Glen Cove and Long Beach) and 3 towns (Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in Nassau County.

In this regard, please remember that it is very important to know in which city or town (or village) the event took place and the city or town (or village) could be different from the city or town (or village) where the individual may have resided.

As I wrote, Islip is a hamlet in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County. There are 4 villages (incorporated areas) and 23 hamlets (unincorporated areas) all or partly within the Town of Islip.

Which means you would first want to contact the town clerk for the Town of Islip.

Office of the Town Clerk
Town of Islip
Islip Town Hall
655 Main Street
Islip, NY 11751
Tel: 631/224-5490

I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting.

L'Shannah Tova & Happy 5763,

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.



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