Thanks for the link, Jeremy! Yes, I absolutely think that "the families" were local gentry that JA didn't mention by name because they were not necessary to the story. Like Carolyn, I'm making a list of the people JA only mentioned once in passing, and there are quite a number! We tend to slip into thinking that the P&P characters' only friends are JA's other main characters, but if you look at the novel more closely, it's not true. I think JA took it for granted her readers would understand that her characters have a full social life that she only mentions in passing because it's not vital to the plot - JA was very economical that way.