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James Lloyd LeCompte

James Lloyd LeCompte, was born ca. 1806 at Cambridge, Dorchester, Maryland. He married Emily Dawson on 16 Apr 1835 at the Baltimore City Station Methodist Episcopal Church.

James and Emily had ten children:

  1. Elizabeth A. LeCompte (1839- )
  2. Laura V. LeCompte (1845-1918)
  3. Margaret Jane LeCompte (1845- )
  4. James Henry LeCompte (1845-1908)
  5. Edward Lloyd LeCompte (1848-1906)
  6. George Thomas LeCompte (1850-1894)
  7. Sarah R. D. LeCompte (1852-1904)
  8. Humphrey B. LeCompte (1854-1897)
  9. Lewis Phillip Ross LeCompte (1856-1912)
  10. Mary Catherine LeCompte (1859-1892)

James died of heart disease on 03 Aug 1859 at his residence on Charles Street, between Hill and Montgomery streets. According to the Baltimore Sun, “vessels in this port placed their ensigns and flags at half-mast out of respect for James Lloyd LeCompte, the engineer of the steamer [Belvedere], of the Richmond line”. Apparently, James was well-known among the mariners in the port of Baltimore. He was most famously known as the engineer of the steamer Columbus at the time of her fiery demise at Smith’s Point in Nov 1850. The paddle wheel mechanism of this ill-fated boat is currently on display at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory.

There is some confusion regarding James’ name. His tombstone at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Baltimore City reads “Jos. Lloyd LeCompte (1806-1859)”. Jos. is the abbreviated form of Joseph. I can only assume whomever placed the new stone, or perhaps an inattentive stone-carver, confused the “o” with the “a” of the lost original stone. Stones at Mount Olivet deteriorate to an alarming degree. The stones of James’ children, i.e., James Henry LeCompte and his wife, are nearly illegible. If James Lloyd’s stone was made from similar stone, I could see why his descendants might have been confused.

The identity of James’ father is a mystery, although a letter in the Goldsborough Collection at the Maryland Historical Society lists the names of possible brothers, e.g., William, Peter, Thomas.