Indian Curse

Do you know any LeCompte's who wear eyeglasses? If they are descendants of Antoine's son Moses, it may just be the remnants of an old Indian curse.

The generally peaceful Choptank Indians lived in longhouses, not teepees, along the coastal waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn More

We do know that Antoine and a Mr. Horn explored the coastal land of the Great Choptank River in the late 1650's and settled around a bay, later known as LeCompte Bay, on either side of a creek, later known as LeCompte Creek. We also know that Choptank Indians, a sub-tribe of the Algonquin, lived by fishing these shores, and though capable of war, were generally a gentle people living in longhouses along the coastline.

As the land was sparsely inhabited by Europeans, the early settlers built homes that doubled as fortifications against any potential threat by the slightly more populous Indians. Encounters between the two cultures were occasionally bloody, but Antoine must have had adequate servants and armory to fend off any attacks. His great-grandchildren told stories of how he dispersed the Indians "by firing guns of most every size."

Although there is no evidence of a specific encounter, and there is no mention of a curse in the family manuscript of 1819, some family stories relate how in an act of self-protection, or perhaps overzealousness, Antoine killed members of the Choptank, perhaps the tribe of Chief Hatchwop, and consequently the Indians cursed his family with blindness. There is no doubt that Antoine's 2nd son Moses went blind in his early 20's, from what we today assume was Retinitus Pigmentosa, and that the "curse of blindness" afflicted 9 of Moses's children and more than 40 of his descendants.

Of course, before deciding whether there was ever really a curse, bear in mind that the 1800's produced a number of so-called 'Indian Curse' stories. Perhaps the most famous being the curse of Tecumseh that has supposedly killed sitting Presidents elected every 20 years since 1860, the narrow exception being Ronald Reagan. Just as this curse is unlikely to have been uttered, it is equally unlikely that a LeCompte curse was invoked.

However, I must note that as a direct male descendant of the first blind Moses LeCompte, I can attest that I, like my father's before me, although not blind, am quite helpless without a thick pair of spectacles mounted on my nose.

Coat of Arms

	This coat of arms from Normandy is known to belong to the Gravelle family, althought it is frequently cited, probably incorrectly, as belonging to the LeCompte family.

There are numerous coat-of-arms that have been described for the LeCompte family, probably because of the multitude of spellings and families that appear in different places and times from Belgium to France to England. There is also uncertainty as to whether Anthony, the immigrant, had a coat-of-arms before he left France, and whether he had one recorded in the Herald's College for his service to the King of England in the 1640's.

There are certainly numerous Internet vendors who are ready and willing to find and print your coat of arms on a mug, shirt, or scroll. Unfortunately, they all differ slightly on the specifics of what constitutes the LeCompte shield. More alarmingly, the shield they often suggest resembles a bit too closely the shields of many other names.

A rendering of the shield that hung in Benjamin Berry LeCompte Sr.'s home in Richmond, VA.

One possible, unverified coat of arms that is frequently associated with the LeCompte name is described as "a blue shield with a gold chevron between three silver crescents." The Crest is often identified as a lion, and the motto is generally unknown. Other sites suggest that "on a red background there is a gold lion with two silver stars." Still others report "a shield divided bendy red and gold with three escallops on a blue chief." None of these sites document the source for identifying the shield.

The coat of arms shield that hung in the home of Benjamin Berry LeCompte of Richmond, VA simply displayed a red chevron and three black ravens with the motto, "The Lord Feeds the Raven." The motto is clearly a Bible reference to the Grace of God:

Luke 12:24 "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them."

Ravens would have been a common sight flying over battlefields in medieval times, eager to feast on the dead. Perhaps the idea was that the knight carrying the raven shield would be the one feasting at the conclusion of the battle.

This Le Compte shield has Belgian roots according to research by Robert J. Dubois.

The web site of Robert J. Du Bois, a Le Compte of Belgian ancestry, tells us a bit more, and also displays a "raven-like" shield that was purportedly:

"drawn by an heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Le Compte Coat of Arms design can be found in Rietstap Armorial General. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe an individual Coat of Arms. In their language, the Arms (shield) is as follows:

"D'arg. au chev. de gu., acc. de trols corbeaux de sa.'

"When translated the Arms description is: "Silver: a red chevron between three black crows." Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times. A Motto was not recorded with the Le Compte Coat of Arms."

Elias Jones, in his book "Revised History of Dorchester County" (1925, p397), includes a drawing of yet another coat of arms for the Le Comte surname, which he presumably acquired from Samuel E. LeCompte of Cambridge, MD. Unfortunately, he gives no source or traditional description for the drawing.

Unfortunately, a search in May 2004 by William Hunt, Windsor Herald for the College of Arms in London, concluded that no knighthood of Antoine LeCompte (or its various spellings) is to be found in England. However, there remains the possibility that Antoine carried his family Arms from the European continent rather than for service to the English King.

Editors Note: If anyone has more concrete information on the proper shield for the family of Anthony LeCompte, please let us know!

LeCompte Translated

The Count		When you know a little French and you learn that LeCompte translates "The Count," you can't help wonder whether your ancestors were royalty. Then you realize that the French verb 'compter' means 'to count' and not 'the count.' According to most sources, the surname Le Compte appears to be occupational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the French, meaning, "one who kept the accounts." The most prominent variations of Le Compte are Lecompte, Lecompes and Les Comptes. One ancient origin of the name may be Languedoc in Southern France.		Or the Accountant?

The Author

In case you are wondering who authored and produced this web site, it is the littlest boy at the beach in the following picture.

Family photo of Ben & Isabel (Collie) LeCompte taken summer 1966 on the beach in Virginia Beach, VA at 57th Street. Standing (l to r): Benjamin Berry LeCompte III, Carmen (Pettus) LeCompte, Benjamin Berry LeCompte Jr., Benjamin Berry LeCompte Sr., Isabel (Collie) LeCompte, Isabel "Sys" (LeCompte) Schulte, Walter Lane Schulte, Edwin Lee LeCompte. Seated (l to r): Hunter Pettus LeCompte, Carmen Rebecca "Becky" LeCompte, William Harvey "Bill" LeCompte, Kirkwood Adams LeCompte, Jane (Saunders) LeCompte, Lee Mason Schulte, Walter Kent Schulte, Michael Lane Schulte, Jane Burrows "Jebbie" LeCompte

My grandfather's father: Frank Layton Foxwell LeCompte	My grandfather's mother: Mary Ann Westbay Mason	My grandfather's grandfather: Francis Asbury LeCompte	My grandfather's grandmother: Eveleene B. Foxwell

Francis & Eveleene LeCompte, my great-great-grandparents, gave birth to 14 children, but fate yielded only three grandchildren. Five of their children died within three months of birth. Two more died between the ages of six and seven. One never married. Three others married, but had no children of their own. Of the three who were married and gave birth, each had just one child who lived beyond infancy. The three surviving grandchildren were William F. LeCompte (b. abt 1880), Charles Francis Fountain (b. 1898), and Benjamin Berry LeCompte (b. 1900). If you are a descendant of one of these three grandsons, I would very much like to hear from you at kirk.lecompte@usa.net.

Three of Francis & Eveleene's children married but had no children. However, two of them did raise children. Kate LeCompte, who married James Mitchell Reid, raised a friend's daughter from the age of 18 months. This "adopted" daughter was Meta Carpenter who later married Howard B. LeCompte and had four children. And Lee LeCompte, who married Delia Augusta Sherman, raised Delia's niece Lucille Sherman Phillips after the death of Lucille's parents. Lucille never married or had children.

Hope you are enjoying your visit!