made by Thomas and Daniel LeCompte in 1819 to Benj. W.
LeCompte of Dorchester County, Md. This being a true copy of the same taken
from the original in the hands of the Hon. Dexter LeCompte, Chief Justice of
Kansas in Leavenworth Kansas by Richard T. Bryan of Maryland at the residence
of Judge LeCompte in 1859.
The rise and progress of the family of the LeComptes in America, principally in Maryland.
Anthony LeCompte a native of the Province of Picorde (Picardi) in
France, on the account of his being a Protestant and was turned out, and his
estate confiscated to the Roman clergy, which was a custom at that time, he
then fled into England and there took up arms against the King of France, being
war at that time between the two nations. So joined the British army and fought
eleven years for the King of Great Britain and when the wars were over his name
was so great, and for his valor, had him knighted and the title of "Monsieur"
(Sir) given to him, and his "coat of arms," also which as we have heard from
our ancestor is now in the tower of London, and in the same city came across a
french lady by the name of Esther Doatloan and married her there. She also was
a Protestant and born in the province of Normandy and turned out on account of
her religion.
He then took shipping and came into the Chesapeake Bay and settled
on the Potomac River in St. Mary' County, and after hearing of the Great
Choptank River being a settling, he and one Horn came in a boat together and
viewed the shores up to where we now live. He then took up his lands upon the
Bay, which was afterwards called "LeComptes Bay," the tract was called the
lands of St Anthony and Horne took up the lands of Hornes or Horns
Point that belongs to Charles Goldsborough, the two tracts close together.
He then removed his family from the Potomack, and settled upon the
Northern side of a creek. That was afterwards called LeComptes Creek, and there
being so few whites and they so distant apart, that he was obliged to fort
himself in or be cut off by the natives which however he averted by bringing
white servants with small arms, ammunition and some cannons, and when
surrounded by the savages, would often disperse them by firing guns of most
every size and killed some at different times, which was the sole cause of his
preservation no doubt.
Anthony LeCompte had six children
four sons + two
daughters, which were those, beginning at the eldest
John, Moses, Philip,
and Anthony. His daughters were Esther and Catharine.
John, the first, married Nancy Windemere, the daughter of Doctor
Windemere that lived at Windemere's Bridge, his children were, John, William,
Philemon, James and Robert Windemere, he had one daughter Nancy.
John the second married one Blanche Powel and had
John, Charles, Anthony, Philemon and William LeCompte and his daughters was
Nancy, Mary, Clare, Esther, Blanche and Elizabeth.
William the second son of the first John from
monsieur, married one Smart and Leven LeCompte and Stephen were the descendents
of the aforesaid William and some others.
Philemon third son from first John from monsieur,
married one Seward and Charles LeCompte at Oyster Shell Point deceased, was his
youngest son, and several others as William, James, John, Abram
James the fourth son of the first John married a
Mal'et {Editor's Note: often cited as Mallet}and his sons was James,
Philemon, Anthony, Charles and Nathan.
The LeComptes in Caroline County as
well as James LeCompte overseer of the poor, Samuel
LeCompte the "surveyor" are grand-children to the above, the fourth son
James, of the first John, from monsieur with other descendants.
Though Robert Windesmere LeCompte married, yet we
know of, no descending heirs from him.
John the third married one Sarah Peterkin and had
three sons, John, Charles, and James.
Charles second son of John the second, married
Sarah Hith over in Talbot County.
Anthony third son of John the second married one
Mary Sewell.
Philemon married a Hatfield.
William for his first wife married one Dinah Byus
and had three sons and two daughters; the sons was William, Philemon and John;
the daughters Sarah and Rebecca the wives of Stephen and Levin LeCompte in
Chickamacomico.
The same William for his last wife married Esther LeCompte
sister to Oyster Shell Point Charles, and had two sons Charles and Caleb
LeCompte.
I now come to the second son of Monsieur LeCompte which is
Moses.
Moses when about eighteen or nineteen years began to lose his
sight and ? gone about two or three and twenty, the first that lost his sight,
after which he married a lady by the name of Skinner, the daughter of old
Skinner from England that took up the land that is now owned by Joseph Byus.
She by him had eleven children whose names are as follows. The eldest was
Phillip who lost his sight. Moses that lost his sight. Thomas also. Peter kept
his sight. Samuel lost his. Joseph his. Anthony saved his, and William my
father lost his. His daughters was Esther, Nancy and Elizabeth, who all three
lost their sight.
Philip first son of Moses the first never
married.
Moses the second married on James Island the widow
Driver and had one son and three daughters. The son was Moses which we call
Moses the third, and daughters was Levinah, Esther and Mary.
Moses the third married a Pattison and had one son
and four daughters. The sons was Moses, the daughters Nancy, Esther, Rozamond
and Elizabeth.
Levinah first daughter of Moses the second married
one William Geoghegan from Dublin.
Also Mary married oneLevin Cator and then a Dove;
lastly she married a Day, and by Cator and Dove many descendents and some by
Day.
Esther married Matthew Skinner and left no
descendents.
Moses the fourth married one Edmonson first and
had one daughter thats the wife of Keene, and after her decease Colonel (Moses
I suppose) LeCompte married Woodward and had two sons Benjamin and Samuel W.
and some daughters.
(Elizabeth, Emily W. and Margaret, added to
statement)
Thomas third son of Moses from Monsieur never
married.
Peter fourth son of Moses from Monsieur married a
Brannock and had four sons. Thomas, Samuel, Peter + Joseph.
The descendents of Peter the second is Peter
LeCompte in Blackwater and his relations.
Thomas and Samuel, sons of Peter the first went to
sea and never returned.
Joseph fourth son of Peter the first married
Elizabeth Sewers and had four sons. Samuel thats living in Tuckahoe Neck,
Joseph that lives in Castle Haven Neck, Thomas was killed at sea, and James
that died a young man, and three daughters.
I now come to the fifth son of Moses which is
Samuel who never married.
Joseph sixth son of Moses the first married a
widow Shahawn and had two sons Samuel + Nicholas. Samuel married a Rachel Watts
and left sons and daughters, one son Edmond and another Samuel, and Nicholas
never married. The family of the Parkers are the descendents of the above
Joseph sixth son of Moses from Monsieur.
Anthony seventh son of Moses from Monsieur who
kept his sight married a widow Bennett in Talbot County, and had four
daughters. Elizabeth, Catharine, Mary and Esther, and from those a number of
descendents. His second wife was Blanche LeCompte and by her he had two
daughters Sarah and Dolly and from these two a good many descendents.
William the eighth son of Moses from Monsieur
married a widow Martin of Talbot County, and had five sons and two daughters.
The sons was Philip, Moses, Thomas, Daniel and Isaiah Lecompte, the daughters
Mary and Nancy.
Philip never married.
Moses married a Wheeler and had two sons and two
daughters, the sons Moses and Hugh, the daughters Mary and Mahala.
Thomas third son of William never married.
Daniel neither.
Isaiah married a Sarah Geoghegan and had three
sons, William, Samuel + Isaiah LeCompte.
The daughters of the aforesaid William eighth son
of Moses the first was Mary and Nancy. Mary married Thomas Wingate and left
descendents.
Nancy married Levin Wingate and also left many
descendents.
The above Thomas and Daniel LeCompte the sole
proprietors of this statement.
{Editors Note: Mark Raulin has a
similar transcription of this document that includes at
this point the descendants of Isaiah & Sarah G. LeCompte. Such entries were
obviously added by the family arranging for that transcription, which was done
in 1869. This transcription does not mention Isaiah's descendants.}
I now come to the daughters of Moses the first
from Monsieur.
Esther the eldest never married.
Mary married Arthur Bigby of Talbot County, and
had five sons and five daughters as Arthur, Philip, Thomas, Moses and Jonathon
Bigby; and his daughters was Esther, Mary, Elisar, Elizabeth and Susannah and
from men + women are always large numbers of descendents and some that have
lost their sight.
Elizabeth third daughter of Moses from Monsieur
married a James Sewers from Philadelphia and had two sons and three daughters
whose names are John + James, the daughters Mary, Elizabeth and Susannah and
from them many descendents.
Philip third son of Monsieur never married but died under age.
Anthony the fourth son and last son of Monsieur married one
Margaret Beckwith and had two sons and one daughter, his sons was Nehemiah and
Anthony and his daughter was Margaret.
Nehemiah married one Clara Pool and had three sons
and four daughters. His sons was Anthony, Nehemiah and John, his daughters was
Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth and Esther.
Anthony second son of Anthony from Monsieur left
no issue.
Anthony, Nehemiah's oldest son married one Sarah
Skinner and had sons and daughters but they are all are dead and there is no
descending heir as we know of from Anthony fourth son of Monsieur now
living.
Esther the eldest daughter of Monsieur LeCompte married one Henry
Fox of Talbot County near where St Michaels now stands and had two
daughters Esther and Mary and then Fox died and then she married William
Skinner and had three sons William, Philemon and Thomas Skinner.
Esther, her oldest daughter by Fox married John
Leeds of Talbot County and from her we know of no issue.
Her other daughter Mary married one Joseph Hopkins
of the same county and from her a great family of Hopkins have issued.
The three sons of Esther Skinner daughter of
Monsieur all married and from them have arisen a great number of descendents in
Talbot and in Dorchester County.
{Editor's Note: The original transcriber, R. T.
Bryan, inserted some additional notes about the Leeds family from his own
manuscript at this point. I have yet to transcribe these additional
notes.}
We next proceed to Catherine, Monsieur's second daughter.
Catherine, Monsieur's second daughter married one James Culins
from Annapolis and she by him had three sons whose names are John, William and
James. He then died.
John nor James never married, but
William married one Sarah Pool and from him there
is descendants now living,
and the widow Culins daughter of Monsieur married Thomas Bruff and
settled in Cambridge.
She had one daughter by Bruff by the name of
Margaret, who married John Woolford and had five sons and one daughter. The
sons was John, James, William, Robert and Levin; the daughter was Mary who
married Capt. Robert Hewing and left no descendents that we know of. John,
James nor William never married.
Robert married Elizabeth LeCompte daughter of
Charles LeCompte of Castle Haven Neck, and had one daughter named Elizabeth who
married Capt. Solomon Frazier.
John Woolfords last son Levin, that lived at Shoal
Creek, had two wives. His last was a Woodard. He has some daughters and one
son. His sons name was John, and so much for the children of Monsieur
LeCompte.
{Editors Note: Mark Raulin has a
similar transcription of this document that includes at
this point the descendants Moses & Mary Shearman. Moses being a son of
Moses & Elizabeth Wheeler (not Philip as identified in Raulin's
manuscript). That family is not mentioned in this manuscript, but is included
in a descendant tree report by Kirk LeCompte.}
We will now conclude by observing that
Monsieur LeCompte, though he was turned out of France because of his
religion and then braved the wars of France and England and in London found his
lady (wife) and came and settled in America: still after this there hath arisen
the most numerous family from him, than any other man perhaps crossed the
ocean, which naturally implies that he was in favor both with God and man: as
some other families are extinct and gone, and not one to keep up the name;
while there is hundreds of people who dont bear the name of LeCompte, that is
as near in blood as some that bear the name, and in that have heard + kept this
intelligence are blind men too.
Now Moses, the first from Monsieur was the first that lost his
sight and he had eleven children, nine of which lost their sight, which was a
great part, and but since, by blind men and women marrying into other families,
the proportion is much less, as from more than two thirds to less than one
third: and as their gifts + and talents are more + greater than those that
could see, both men and women. That women of other families are commonly more
attached to them that had not their sight than to those that could see; also
that men of other families were more attached to the women that lost their
sight. Marrying into other families is the cause of so many blind people being
in their families.
Since Moses the first that lost his sight there have been two and
forty and now in year 1819 there is nineteen living in Dorchester and Talbot of
different families and names. Now some foolish people have thought that this
misfortune befel us on the account of the wickedness of their ancestors, but
how different it is from truth, reason + scripture. For our Lord said "Many are
the afflictions of the righteous, but out of these we will deliver them all,
for whom he loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son that he receiveth.
Read the ninth Chapter of Johns Gospel, part of which is as
follows:
"And as Jesus passed by he saw a man which was blind from his
birth and his disciple asked him saying "Master who did sin this man or his
parents that he was born blind?" Jesus answered "neither hath this man sinned
nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest on him. I
must work the work of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when
no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world and
when he had thus spoken He spat upon the ground and made clay of the spittle
and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and said unto him, go
wash in the pool of Siloam which is by interpretation sent! he went his way
therefore and washed and came seeing.
Finis!
