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From: "Norman R. Brown" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] OT naming
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:09:54 -0800


"Joan Thomas" <> recently inquired:

> This may be off topic, but I have found a family listed in
> the 1850 census for Tennessee with the father's given name
> "Squire". A later census shows a given name of Tom. Is
> "Squire" a title? What would it represent?

A search of my favorite online Merriam-Webster dictionary for the word
"squire" reveals this:

Squire

Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English squier, from Anglo-French esquier - more at
esquire
Date: 13th century

1: a shield bearer or armor bearer of a knight

2 a: a male attendant especially on a great personage

b: a man who devotedly attends a lady : gallant

3 a: a member of the British gentry ranking below a knight and above a
gentleman

b: an owner of a country estate; especially : the principal landowner in a
village or district

c(1): justice of the peace

(2): lawyer

(3): judge

-------------------------------------

Now, in my much younger days in upstate New York, which goes back seven
decades plus, the term "Squire" was used for a man who dressed nattily, one
who could be called a "country gentleman" back in those days.

Hope this helps.

Norman


Present Moment, Wonderful Moment -- Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh

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