Show ContentsLecleach History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The French name Lecleach comes from "le clerc", or "the clerk", and as such was an occupational name originally used for a scribe or secretary.

Early Origins of the Lecleach family

The surname Lecleach was first found in Limousin, where this renowned family held a family seat from ancient times.

Many members of this important family were recorded as participants in the French Revolution and in its resultant political forums. Théodore François Joseph Leclaire was a member of the military who was promoted to the rank of Chief of Battalion of the 98th regiment in 1791, followed in 1793 by a promotion to Commander of Arms. He was also honoured by being admitted to the Legion of Honour.

Early History of the Lecleach family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lecleach research. Another 31 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1587, 1622, 1633, 1637, 1657, 1691, 1697, 1711, 1714, 1736, 1774 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Lecleach History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lecleach Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Lecleach, including Leclair, Leclaire, Leclaires, Leclère, Leclere, Leclères, Lecleres, Leclert, Lecler, le Clair, le Claire, le Claires, le Clère, le Clere, le Clères, le Clert, le Cler, Clair, Claire, Claires, Clère, Clere, Clères, Clert and many more.

Early Notables of the Lecleach family

Notable amongst the family was Jean Leclerc (c.1587-1633), French painter and etcher, born into the service of Duke Charles III of Lorraine; Michel Le Clerc (1622-1691), a French lawyer and dramatist; Sébastien Leclerc (1637-1714), a French printmaker, draughtsman...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lecleach Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lecleach family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Lecleach has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Lecleach were Elizabeth Leclair, who settled in Carolina in 1695; Joseph and Marguerite Leclair, who landed at l'Isle-St-Jean, in Acadia, (Prince Edward Island) about 1724.



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