Notes
- http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/a/n/Arthur-L-Manning/GENE3-0001.html
In "Maryland Genealogies vol. II" indexed by Thomas L. Hollowak, there is a chapter on the LeCompte family. Also in the "New Revised History of Dorchester County, Maryland" by Elias Jones there is a section on the LeCompte family. Anthony LeCompte was born in Picardy, France, and died during the autumn of 1673 in Dorchester County, Maryland. The earliest reference to him in Maryland is apparently in 1655 in which he assigned his rights to 200 acres of land due him to Ishmael Wright. Then there is a record of him being paid 300 pounds of tobacco for killing three wolves in Calvert County. Tobacco was used as money in those days. Can you imagine being given tobacco for killing wolves today? There was a warrant for him for 800 acres on the Eastern Shore of Md. dated 26 July, 1659. He was granted this land for transporting eight people there from England. He had many descendants.
In "Early Families of Southern Maryland, Vol.3" by Elise Greenup Jourdan there is a section on the LeCompte family. The following information is from that book. "The LeCompte family of Dorchester Co. descended from Anthony LeCompte, a French Protestant, who brought his family to Maryland to escape religious persecution in Europe. 'Sketches of Maryland Eastern Shoremen' quotes portions of a manuscript written in 1819 by two blind brothers, Thomas and Daniel Lecompte, of the 9th generation removed from Anthony LeCompte, from which the following is paraphrased:
'When the estate of Anthony Le Compte, a Protestant of Picorde, France, was confiscated by the Roman clergy, he fled to England. For the next eleven years he fought for the King of Great Britain against the Catholic King of France. For his valor he was knighted 'and the title Monsieur [Sir] was given him' along with a coat of arms said to be in the Tower of London. He settled first in St. Mary's Co., then hearing about the land on the Great Choptank River of the Eastern Shore, he and a man named Horn went across the Bay to investigate. Horn took up land from Charles Goldsborough on Horn's Point and Anthony settled his family on the northern side of a creek, later known as LeCompte's Creek, on a bay which was later called LeCompte's Bay. Since few whites lived in the area and distances between plantations was great, it was up to the settler to defend his plantation without outside help. Anthony was able to protect his plantation and family by bringing in white servants and a variety of arms to drive off the savages who surrounded the plantation at times.'
Anthony Lecompte of the Parish of Mackeneere Callis in France and Esther (Hester) Dottante of Deepe
(Dieppe) in France were married 11 June 1661 in England. Apparently Anthony returned to England to marry then returned to Maryland later. They had four sons and two daughters.
On February 22, 1664 the proceedings of the Council of Maryland ordered that "Antoine LeCompte have Pattent of Dennizacon to him his wife and children." This means that they were naturalized at that date.
According to the "New Revised History of Dorchester County, Maryland", Anthony LeCompte was one of the Justices of Dorchester County, 1669-71. According to "Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland - Vol. 14" by Peden and Wright, he was appointed to this position on May 6, 1669. That month he received 2,022 pounds of tobacco as payment for that position.