Hi Joan, your little essay seems to sum up all really well and in a comprehensive way. Thanks so much.
It's much easier now for me and anybody else I guess, to understand the meaning of townships particularly for family research. So a township is rather a 'land surveying' definition (thanks to Montfort Reed for this) or one used with physical planning, than a political unit. Somebody had the idea we should describe these systems more clearly for other regions of the world and especially European countries too. Thta's not a bad idea, so I'll try to compile something for Austria, maybe others can then add more. Thanks again! Tilman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joan Best" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2002 7:33 AM Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] location, location, location > Tillman, > All day people have been posting exceptions to the rule, which has been fun, > but in general the concept is simple. > > 1. A State's relationship to the Federal government is very much like the > relationship of the various countries to the European Union. That is why > there is so much variation from state to state. State boundaries are now > fixed, but they were once in flux, and in some instances new states were > carved out of larger states. There are many map sites that show these > changes. With the exception of Washington DC every piece of land in the US > is found within a state. > > 2. Every state has subdivisions. In most states these are called Counties. > Texas has 250+, Hawaii has 4, so you can see there is a lot of variety. In > the east, where counties were formed when you had to ride a horse to the > county seat [where government business is conducted] counties tend to be > small. In the west, they are much larger. Whatever this first level > division is called, it is where most local government happens. [unless you > live in a city. In which case usually some will be at the city level, some > at the county.] Every bit of land in most states is found in one county or > another. [Apparently Virginia has exempted Richmond, where the first > division is a city, and other states may be moving in that direction, in > which case, every bit of land is either in a county or certain designated > large cities.] > > 3. Townships are the next level of subdivision. They have nothing to do > with "towns" or populated areas. They represent a way to make counties more > manageable for voting, census, and location identification. In most of the > US they are not a subgovernment. In most states, at least in the 17th-19th > centuries, each county was cut up into these subdivisions and every location > in a county was in a township. Think of it as the county is a pie that has > been cut up in various shapes and a name given to each resulting piece. So > a township is to a county as a county is to a state. Every piece of land in > a county is in one or the other of the townships. Caveat: These > subdivisions have other names in some states but the idea is the same. For > the most part, townships have only historical interest. > > 4. Between colonial times and the early 20th century most of the US was > rural. Most states had only one or two large cities. As cities developed > they had needs different from rural areas: water, sewer, roads, fire, > police, etc. and they organized and created their own governing bodies. > Towns grew together like dots in a petrie dish and often the names of the > towns become sections of the city. States dealt with large population > centers in different ways, and they are still evolving. > > Townships are important in my research in Pennsylvania at the end of the > 18th century. It was all rural, with small populations areas of several > hundred. Most inhabitants were farmers. People married neighbors. > Township locations helps narrow down the search. The census was taken by > township and land was located by townships, mail was delivered by township.. > > I grew up in and live in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. In spite > of my intimate knowledge of the area, I don't know the name of even one > township, all though I am sure 100 years ago local inhabitants would know. > > I hope this help. > Joan Best To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp
