Cities, Counties, and States are defined by political boundaries. They can be most anything as defined by a congress, legislature, or governing body.
A township (Twp.) is a land surveying definition consisting of approx. 36 square miles with boundaries indexed to a meridian (longitude) and base line (latitude). A twp. is further broken down into 36 "sections" of nominal 1 mile squares. Each section contains about 640 Acres (2.47 acres = 1 hectare for our European friends). The size varies because of the earth's curvature. The Twp. system is used in the Western US. Original Thirteen use metes and bounds for land descriptions. This is far more than most wanted to know about townships. But it is the only way to properly explain the differences. Hope this helps. Monty (Ex-surveyor-engineer) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wm Voss" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, July 05, 2002 11:14 AM Subject: RE: [LegacyUG] location, location, location > Los Angeles city and Los Angeles county are not the same, but San Francisco > city and county are. > > Wm Voss > who lives in the former, but prefers the later > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Friday, 05 July, 2002 07:51 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] location, location, location > > > Hi, Tilman, > Kathi is correct that "city" or "town" is often a reference to the > population. States are divided into counties ("parishes" in Louisiana). > Counties are subdivided into townships. A city, etc. can be located > anywhere > within the township and sometimes, just to keep us confused, can straddle > township boundries. Finally, some cities are so large as to be both the > city > and county. Los Angeles is a good example of this. > > For example, I am from the City of East Grand Forks, which is located in > Grand Forks Township, Polk County, Minnesota. Each of these is a separate, > governing entity. > > Knowing the township can be very important, especially if someone purchased > land under the 1862 Homestead Act. These are the land records found at > www.blm.gov. And, as Kathi noted, for finding voting records, census > reports, etc. > > As a rule, I note the township only if the event occurred in a rural area, > i.e., not a city. This helps me pinpoint the geographic location. > > > Jon Raymond > St. Paul Park, MN 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
