There is a portrait, hanging above the mantel in the living room of the Meredith House, of a handsome gentleman in uniform, a saber on his left side and a pleasant, almost smile on his face.  His youthful appearance is aged slightly by the muttonchops that sweep down the side of his face but give balance to the lack of hair on a high forehead.
If you had been living in Cambridge between 1796 and 1862 you might very well have known Samuel Woodward LeCompte because the family name has been prevalent in this area since 1655 when Samuel's ancestor, Anthony LeCompte, a French Huguenot from Picardy, settled on 800 acres of land patented to him in 1659.  A tributary of the Choptank River, LeCompte's Bay became a local landmark.  Samuel's Father was Moses LeCompte, IV and his Mother was Elizabeth Woodward LeCompte.
In his youth, Samuel's attraction for the water never diminished and at sixteen years of age, in January 1812, he received his Warrant as a Midshipman, United States Navy, from President Madison.  He served on numerous fighting ships during the War of 1812, including the Constellation, Brandywine, Erie and Vandalia.  During his navy career he captained many Navy vessels.
Captain LeCompte was not always at sea.  During shore duty he met and married Mary Richardson Eccleston on July 1, 1828.  She was the daughter of two prominent citizens, William Washington Eccleston and Sophia Richardson Eccleston.
In a letter to his wife written while on board the Constellation, dated in precise, Navy style as 4 p.m., April 14, 1832, it reads:
"My dearest wife:
I closed my letter abt. T---, but the wind moderated immediately after, and we did not discharge the pilot, till this moment, and true to my word, as I intend to be in all my acts, I embrace the only opportunity to contribute to your gratification's in my power, for the present, we are now at sea the ship has considerable motion and contrary to the usual effect, I am, with the exception of a light head-ache, in excellent health.  I hope this will find you and my dear child, (Emily Eccleston LeCompte, born in 1831) enjoying health and every other comfort, this life can afford.  Take good care of yourself Dearest Wife, and recollect you are my life, my soul, in fact, everything, that a good wife can be to her affectionate and devoted husband.  May God in His mercy bless and preserve you, is my most sincere prayer."  In Haste, LeCompte. (He signed all of his letters using only his last name.)
While lacking grammatical correctness and using personal abbreviations, it is obvious that Captain LeCompte was a devoted husband and father.  Their first child, Samuel Woodward LeCompte, Jr., died as an infant in 1829.  Another son, Benjamin Woodward Eugene LeCompte, born in 1834, was also short-lived dying in 1837.  A daughter was born to the couple in 1839, Sophia Richardson LeCompte who lived until 1900 and was married to Daniel Nicholson James.
Samuel LeCompte and his family lived at 204 High Street, which now houses the Law Offices of E. Thomas Merryweather.  The house was built in 1823 and began housing the LeComptes in 1842.  It remained in their family for 135 years and is still called LeCompte House by the present owner.
While official Navy records list Samuel LeCompte's rank as Commander, he was always "Captain" to the hundreds of sailors who served with him and to his devoted family.
The LeComptes all rest in the historic cemetery at Christ Church in Cambridge but you may visit the images of the Captain and his wife, Mary, in the Meredith House and they will both welcome you with the trace of a smile and a wonderful historic past.
(The portraits of Captain and Mrs. LeCompte were donated to the Dorchester County Historical Society by the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Shepherd Henry).
Submitted by Melanie Merryweather & Warren Papin