I will use as much information about the place as I know, starting with the smallest area. For example, “town/city, county, state, USA”. The more information you have will help in future research. If the event happened outside of the town, then I’d just use the county, however, you might want to add a note that the location is “at home just outside of said town”. In the early 19th century. Homesteads were in townships. So, for example if you were married, or born at the home farm, I would use the name of the township (and section # if known), not the town. If you don’t know what township they are in, you can easily google search “Townships in the state” you are working. Some states, like Louisiana, call them Parishes. I’ve done a post explaining Townships and Precincts maps at https://patburns.com/township-and-precinct-maps/. I hope this helps. Feedback welcome!

When an event such as a birth, marriage, etc takes place outside of a town/city, should the place include the town/city of the location or just the county? e.g. A birth takes place at home instead of a hospital in town, should the place only include county and state?

Hi Dick,
Personally, I would leave the middle name blank.