New Hampshire, and almost certainly every other state in every land, has hamets
by one name or another. Mr. O'Brien fails to understand the hamlet concept. A
hamlet is certainly not whatever anyone wants it to be. And there certainly is a
conclusive answer. The issue is cloudy only to those who fail to understand it.
Genealogists will find the understanding useful, just as CPAs find it useful to
distinguish between debits and credits, very simple items which utterly confuse
the uninformed.

Any crossroads or settlement (even as few as one home) which has a place name
but no government limited solely to that settlement, is called a hamlet in New
York. Such settlements are known by other generic terms (perhaps town or
village) in other states.

To understand the concept better and perhaps arrive at a mutually satisfactory
definition, consider first, what is a government? The legal body which governs a
specific territory whose residents elect representives; the representatives have
the power to levy taxes on those residents and then use the revenue for the
common good. It must by definition have a defined boundary, to determine who can
run for office, who can vote for its representatives and who is taxed.

New York is very flexible, which leads to the confusion. There are special
governments which serve but one purpose: example, school districts and special
districts. And there are general governments which serve multiple purposes.
Below the state level there are but four types of general government in New
York: county, town, city and village. All have defined boundaries. Of the four,
cities and villages exist solely to serve residents whose homes are clustered
together. Other states may call a village a "borough" and a town a "township,"
just as Louisiana calls counties parishes. The legal authority and power will
vary somewhat of course, but we are talking about the same animal, be it known
as town of township, village or borough.

New York towns and counties are the more basic forms of general government which
serve residents of a wider geographic area.

So what is the generic term for a cluster of two or three (or a hundred or a
thousand) homes that have a place name but no local government devoted
exclusively to the cluster? In New York, the term is hamlet.

A tax man can levy no general tax solely on the residents of a hamlet and a
genealogist can find no municipal records for a hamlet. Each must address the
town (or township) in which the hamlet is located. What is laughable is to
assert that every named crossroads in New Hampshire has its own local government
with a defined boundary.

[log in to unmask] wrote:

> I have to admit, in the many years I've now been a subscriber to the list,
> "Hamlets: What They Are" has to be the most widely debated topic for which
> there has been ultimately no conclusive answer.
>
> I'm laughing hysterically at every comment added to the discussion.  The
> answer is getting cloudier and more convoluted by the hour !  It seems to me
> that a hamlet can be whatever you want it to be.  I'm beginning to suspect
> that someone has long since taken the definative answer to their grave.
> Thank God we don't have hamlets in New Hampshire !!! <snicker>
>
> Joe O'Brien, Genealogist
> 10th Great Grandson of Peter Hallock of Southold
> 12th Great Grandson of Sir Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York (England)