Women and esquires

A wife of a knight is a lady. A woman can be a dame suo jure.

What about esquires? Are wives of esquires mere mistresses, just as
wives of misters are? And what about women who themselves hold position
comparable to that of an esquire?

1272 Group...

In the United States the term is commonly used by attorneys, either
male, female, or other. My male colleagues use it as well. It is not
gender specific. However, anyone in the USA can use "Esquire" as it
only denotes a person who owns land, generally speaking.

Guy Stair Sainty...

Not by any definition that I know of. Personally I am all in favour of female
Esquires (the 6th class, pro tem, of the Order of St john) as I would probably
more enjoy the attention of a female squire than a male one. In no case was
owning land a qualification, however.

Don Aitken...

There is an interesting discussion of this term in the 1360-1461
volume of the New Oxford History. It notes that 14th century
legislation treats the terms "esquire " and "armiger" as equivalent,
but that "by the early fifteenth century the *generosus* 'gentilman'
has replaced the franklin as the lowest grade of gentility, a defining
criterion for which was probably the exercise of lordship over land
and men through the possession of a manor and court". The first formal
grant of arms to a person described as a "gentleman" dates from 1446,
although others doubtless assumed them before that date.