Agree Cynthia,

Townships are small portions of a bigger city, they are only there for voting purposes, like Precincts.

There are and can be several townships in a city, like Wards or Precincts, and you may think your family's home is in one Township/Precinct/Ward/ED, when its in another.

It's like in cities like Washington, D.C., you can live on one street and be in a certain neighborhood (Brentwood), once you cross that street, you're in a different neighborhood (Langdon).

They are just names, nothing more, you have to keep scouring the pages and don't give up or give in when you see a township end. But using google maps and maps from that era can help you understand things better.