Only someone who has spent their entire existance in Massachusetts could make such a statement: "A DEPUTY is a member of a representative council. This is nothing like a deputy sheriff, so don't be confused by the similarity of names." Out west the sheriff is an elected official and his deputy represents him. Hence the sheriff's is no less a representitive as were the Rehoboth deputies. 17th century usage of "deputy" can be seen in the OED　and reads as follows: "A Person authorized to excercise on behalf of another." BC

Bruce wrote: > Only someone who has spent their entire existance in Massachusetts could > make such a statement: Wrong again, but you do have a valid point. We *were* in fact talking about Massachusetts, and it *does* help to be familiar with how things are done there. > "A DEPUTY is a member of a representative > council. This is nothing like a deputy sheriff, so don't be confused > by the similarity of names." > > Out west the sheriff is an elected official and his deputy represents him. > Hence the sheriff's > is no less a representitive as were the Rehoboth deputies. Don't be silly. A deputy sheriff is an employee, and although the title is obviously derived from the original meaning of "deputy", the modern meaning of the term is simply a policeman employed by the sheriff's office. (And, by the way, sheriffs are elected just about everywhere in the US.) Now, let's see -- what does this have to do with William Carpenter? Oh, yes. He was a Deputy to the General Court, not to be confused with a deputy sheriff. John Chandler

I am hoping that Bruce's email will change enough that it doesn't ask us (or me anyway) to download Japanese characters with his post and with every reply. This is annoying! It's enough that you people like to argue about everything on list. Connie > Only someone who has spent their entire existance in Massachusetts could > make such a statement: > > "A DEPUTY is a member of a representative > council. This is nothing like a deputy sheriff, so don't be confused > by the similarity of names." > > Out west the sheriff is an elected official and his deputy represents him. > Hence the sheriff's > is no less a representitive as were the Rehoboth deputies. > > 17th century usage of "deputy" can be seen in the OED　and reads as > follows: > "A Person authorized to excercise on behalf of another." > > BC >