There are two types of townships. The one used in conjunction with counties have lost alot of their usage over the years as we could travel longer distances. They basically divide the county into an even smaller area. This important to know if dealing with country folks. By knowing the township you can tell in which part of the county they lived. This used for a great deal with census records. In Kansas, the township trustee was/is elected to oversee the township roads maintenance [if any] and cemeteries. There is also an elected treasurer who oversees the small amount of taxes received. I don't know what other duties they had altho where were others. All towns are within at least one township. When referring to a town you don't always note the township, in fact many city people do not know what township they live in. The city of Topeka [capital of Kansas] is actually in the corner of four townships. The other type of township is part of a legal land description [township and range] and is always a number. I.e. SouthWest quarter of Section 9 in Township 29 South and Range 12 East. I hope this help our friends "downunder" and in other countries. Mary Beth Figgins [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Sat, 2 Dec 2000 22:32:27 +1000 "Lance" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Cathy, > > The term "township" is not quite the same as we use "town" in > Australia, as > far as I can determine. It refers to "a subdivision of a county, > usually > having some authority for local government". So, in that context it > would be > the equivalent of what we call in Australia a "shire council". There > are > many places in Australia for example where a "town" is situated > within the > boundaries of a "shire" but has a different name, e.g. Ayr in > Queensland is > in the Burdekin Shire Council area. You probably could name similar > ones > over your way, I guess. Our US contributors may be able to explain > more > accurately just what a "township" is in their usage today(?).
