Nancy, A Justice of the Peace who was a layman who administered local legal proceedings such as marriages, coroner's inquests, preliminary hearings in minor magistrate matters, etc. was often identified with the word "Squire" before his name. A Justice of the Peace often traveled around from town to town within his county or district. I did some research for a gentleman awhile back who had a Justice of the Peace in his family line. I often noticed that he was referred to in newspaper articles with the word "Squire" before his name. I hope this helps. Bettye ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy C." <nmcarter@infomagic.net> To: <MOJEFFER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 9:22 PM Subject: [MOJEFFER] Squire > This may be a dumb question but...guess I'll ask or I won't > know for sure. > In regards to court cases, what was a "Squire". I always > thought it was a general term for men of prominence but that > doesn't explain why a Squire would question a suspect in a > murder case. He couldn't or probably wasn't a lawyer as > they were referred to as "Honorable" so and so. Can anyone > explain? > > -- > Nancy C. > Pittman Valley, AZ > Genealogy=Where you confuse the dead and irritate the > living! > > > > ==== MOJEFFER Mailing List ==== > Please take the time to visit the web page of the > Jefferson County Historical Society (JCHS) at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~mojeffer/jchs/index.html >