Query about address

[Jonathon Green]

The OED has a number of cits. for 'Mrs.' as a married woman that
substantially predate Defoe, the first of which is dated 1612 and used by
the  writer/courtier Sir John Harrington. It was initially an abbreviation
of 'Mistress' and as noted by
the NED in 1908 class, as ever in Britain, is at its root: ''Originally
distinctive of gentlewomen, the use of the prefix has gradually extended
downwards; at the present time, every married woman who has no superior
title is styled 'Mrs.' even though her husband is of so humble a position as
not ordinarily to be referred to as 'Mr.''

Jonathon Green