At 8/25/03 11:09 PM Monday, Carol Roy wrote: *********START OF ORIGINAL MESSAGE TEXT********* > >Could you please explain. what a squire was? > >According to the dictionary. One who is a justice of the peace, local >judge, or other local dignitary in county districts and small towns. **********END OF ORIGINAL MESSAGE TEXT*********** Carol, you are correct. Justices of the Peace are elected officials in some counties. The old English word for such a position was "Squire", so that name seems to have persisted from Colonial times down to fairly recently. In most places, a Squire served warrants, could perform mariages, had the power to make arrests, etc. Things that most Deputy Sheriffs do today. Regards, SgtGeorge