Yes sometimes it seems a little bit overdoing it when writing out a long description, i.e. Ashland Township, Ashland County, Ohio. All I know is that it makes source citations very specific as to locations. There are certain areas of the US in which township governments remain quite strong especially in their administration and record keeping duties. I’ve been to many county Genealogical Societies in which their list of local cemeteries and churches are kept on separate list organized by Township name. Using these lists I’ve visited many rural cemeteries based on what list I was given not realizing that less than 1 mile away was another cemetery but because it was in a different township, it was on a different list.
The concept of townships is not universal across the US. Most of the western states in the US have only state and county governments (as well as city). For example, there are no townships in the state of California. But then again there is that other strange animal known as the borough found in several eastern seaboard states. Even people that live there are confused about how that level of government fits into the equation. And then many states have another legal entity called a “village”; it’s not quite a town or city. One good example is the village of Trempealeau which is located inside the city of Trempealeau, all in the township of Trempealeau, in the county of Trempealeau, Wisconsin. I unfortunately have most of my family members from that area and I can attest to the fact that the city of Trempealeau knowns nothing about the county of Trempealeau. And then we won’t even begin to discuss the parishes of Louisiana. J Brian in CA From: LegacyUserGroup [mailto:legacyusergroup-boun...@legacyusers.com] On Behalf Of Trevor Carlson Sent: Monday, April 3, 2017 5:59 PM To: 'Legacy User Group' Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Master Location list, Place names Brian, I do much like you do. Long place description is fully written, but I use abbreviations in the short descriptions. I also have an example like yours for Kasota, Le Sueur County, Minnesota and Kasota Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota, (among quite a few others). Like many other users, I found it difficult to know where a particular event really was until I cleaned up my location list by writing them out in full. I also agree with someone else's point that it is more useful this way for other people who look at my work. Thanks, Trevor Carlson Edmonton, AB From: LegacyUserGroup [mailto:legacyusergroup-boun...@legacyusers.com] On Behalf Of Brian Lightfoot Sent: 2-Apr-17 6:31 PM To: 'Legacy User Group' Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Master Location list, Place names I started adding the additional word “County” to all my county descriptors, regardless of if the city or township was also known. I found that I have a great deal of ancestors in and around Ashland County, Ohio so I noticed many docs from a variety of sources merely stating “Ashland, Ohio”. But a close examination of the source itself revealed some were from the city of Ashland, some were from the Township of Ashland, and others were merely describing the county of Ashland. I found other citations giving the location as “Ashland, Ashland, Ohio” which by many others’ convention would seem to be describing the city of Ashland in Ashland County but in reality was describing the Township of Ashland (not all parts were within the city limits) in Ashland County. Thus I end up with the following variations: Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio (meaning in the city of Ashland) Ashland Township, Ashland County, Ohio (self-explanatory) And finally “, Ashland County, Ohio” meaning a location somewhere in the county with the township not known. From: LegacyUserGroup [mailto:legacyusergroup-boun...@legacyusers.com] On Behalf Of Sherry Sent: Sunday, April 2, 2017 3:58 PM To: Legacy User Group Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Master Location list, Place names I add "County" only when I don't know the city. , King county, Washington, United States Seattle, King, Washington, United States. Although I can understand how confusing it might be if the city and county are the same. Plus I'm not a fan of abbreviations so I spell "county" out. There might be those who aren't sure what "Co." means. It's a common abbreviation for "company".... The WA abbreviation for Washington state is also the abbreviation for Western Australia and there's a town there with the same name as where I live in Washington! Sherry On Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 3:49 PM, Leonard J. McCown <leon...@mccown.org> wrote: Years ago I learned to leave a space for a place that was missing, to mark its place, and also to tell the person that it is a town, village, etc., and the next is the county (at least in the USA). I have continued that, but have started a no-no also, by adding Co. to the county so it is clear. Too many places and counties are named the same . . . Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas. I decided what's best for me and to make it clear when I am dead and others might be using my database. If they don't like it, they can change it then. Personally I think it is a good idea. Was there an option to remove that in the set up for Legacy?
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