[Genealib] 1830 US places called Athens

[Barbara Hill]

To previous responses, I can only add two comments.  One is to be sure not 
to overlook named townships in the eastern states.  I learned this when I 
obtained an obituary for an ancestor who was said to have been born in 
"Bainbridge, Ohio" during the census year of 1830.  This did not make sense 
because his family was enumerated in Geauga County, Ohio which is nowhere 
near the city of Bainbridge.  Then I learned that there is a Bainbridge 
TOWNSHIP in Geauga County and it all made sense.  Perhaps your patron needs 
an Athens Township and doesn't realize it.

On another occasion I was asked to locate a place named "Woodstock" (as of 
about 1810) for a researcher overseas.  Again, nothing made sense because 
the surname in question was not found in the towns named Woodstock in 
several states.  But when I consulted the "Township Atlas of the United 
States" I found a Woodstock Township in the state of Maine - which was 
included in the census of Massachusetts before Maine became its own state - 
and the surname involved was indeed found in that exact location.  To this 
day, many people in the northeastern states use the word "town" to mean 
both a township and a large village/small city.

The other comment is to locate as many statewide gazetteers as your library 
may have, as sometimes they give the date(s) of incorporation for towns and 
townships, which might help you narrow down the number of locations named 
Athens which existed in 1830.  For example, French's "Gazetteer of the 
State of New York" (1860, and reprinted several times) says that Athens 
Township in Greene County, NY was formed Feb. 25, 1815.  The postal village 
of Athens, in the same township, was incorporated April 2, 1805 and was 
located on the Hudson River opposite the city of Hudson.

Barbara Hill


At 02:15 PM 9/2/2006, you wrote:
>A customer needs a list of US places in 1830 that were called Athens.  I 
>had hoped to locate a list of Post Offices for that era, but have not had 
>any luck.  We do not have any atlases that old.  Does anyone have other 
>suggestions?  If you want to email me privately, please use lees at liveoakpl.org
>
>Thank you.
>
>Sharen Lee
>Reference Librarian
>Live Oak Public Libraries
>2002 Bull Street
>Savannah, GA  31401
>912-652-3697
>lees at liveoakpl.org


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