I looked through the HISTORY OF REHOBOTH collection of early Rehoboth records compiled by Bliss for "Mr." usage. The result was interesting. Samuel Newman was consistently referred to as Mr. which make a case for the term as a designation of respect. However for everyone else the story is inconsistency. For example Henry Smith is Mr. Henry Smith only half the time, as is Alexander Winchester. There are others. Again any sociology based on "Mr." is on shaky ground. BC