I apologize in advance if this isn't the correct forum for this question, but I thought I'd give it a try. I'm trying to understand why my great-grandfather (1839-1898) used 'esquire' after his name. I understand the medieval sense of the word, but not quite sure how it was used in the 19th century. Would this have been some type of hereditary 'title', implying some level of gentry, or some profession of a higher order? Or is it likely he started using it after he came to the US, thinking it would impress the ignorant yanks<grin>? I don't believe he ever had land, or came from 'money'; in fact, family stories claim he was adopted by a minister when his parents died... Any thoughts or insights would be much appreciated... Thanks in advance - Laurie Kender in blustery-sunny-but-not-too-cold Indiana __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25� http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash

In message <20040426211046.62092.qmail@web41507.mail.yahoo.com>, Laurie Kender <lkender@yahoo.com> writes >I apologize in advance if this isn't the correct forum >for this question, but I thought I'd give it a try. >I'm trying to understand why my great-grandfather >(1839-1898) used 'esquire' after his name. I >understand the medieval sense of the word, but not >quite sure how it was used in the 19th century. A lot depends on the date. At the beginning of the C19, the honorific was mostly used correctly, to mean a person with a coat of arms -so of a minor gentry family, untitled. I have a list dated 1861, of what must all have been fairly substantial men, all acting equally as stewards in connection with a political celebration, and they are carefully described as Sir AB, CD Esquire or Mr EF., making their position in society quite clear. However, by the end of the century, some people had taken it upon themselves to use it wrongly, just to denote a man with money. It would be quite feasible for someone emigrating to adopt the designation, because the people he met were unlikely to know his true position in society. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society