Those of "gentle" status were recognised as of rank superior to the "simple" folk. To be recognised as a "Gentleman" you HAD to be in possession of LAND --- and not just a paddock. And then that gentility was an automatic status that would be INHERITED by the descendants down through the ages! Owners of large chunks of land were recognised as knights, having "Sir" preceding their name, and could have various titles --- such as Baron, Lord, Earl, etc --- and were entitled to possess a Coat of Arms, a visual emblem of their gentility. Although the "nouveau riche" of the industrial era had loads of money and could buy large chunks of land they found it difficult to be recognised as a Gentleman by those who WERE gentle!! So, it all came down to breeding. If you were begatted by one of the "Gentles" then YOU would be a Gentle --- even if in earlier times you had to prefix your name with a "Fitz" to denote that you were conceived on the wrong side of the blanket! In my transcribing of Parish Records (Cornish) --- especially Baptisms' Registers --- I have frequently seen the terms "Gent" and "Esq" interchanged when referring to the same person. Therefore, they would appear to be synonymous when applied to one of the lower levels of Gentle rank. Geoff Ford Sydney NSW Transcriber 1851 Census Kea and 1851 Census Feock Cornwall Online Census Project http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kayhin/ukocp.html OPC for Kea Parish Church