Mary "Polly" Fuller Leecraft with her son Benjamin Leecraft IIIAccording to Ian Lucraft, who has been researching his ancestors for twenty-five years, "The Luckraft name appears first in the records in the small villages of the South Hams area of Devon, between Kingsbridge and Dartmouth. The variants of the name arise from the differant phonetic spellings as the name was used and recorded. Most of the Luckrafts originate in families resident in the South Hams in the 1500s and 1600's The Lucraft variant originates from Nicholas Luccroft who was married at Farringdon, East of Exeter, in 1691 to Margaret Westcott. Where Nicholas came from is unknown to me, but he commenced a group of families in the villages near Farringdon of Woodbury, and Broadclyst."
Leecrafts are listed as members of the Virginia Company that helped colonizeVirginia Bermuda , as well as settlements north of Virginia
A Leecraft was Governor of Bermuda under George III when many became discouraged by their lack of independenceCaribb ean —Barbados Antigua and Martinique , to continue commercial shipping using their fleet of ships to cargo to ports along mainland America
Around 1780 several Leecraft brothers came to the colonies. It is believed that two settled inNew York Beaufort , South Carolina
Benjamin Leecraft II, born circa 1793, was the only male heir. In 1816 he married Mary “Polly” Fuller, descendant of the Mayflower Fullers, and daughter of Belcher Fuller and Zilphia Guthrie. They had four sons—Benjamin III, William, Lafayette and Nathan Franklin—and four daughters, Susan Benjamin, Zilphia Ann, Mary and Julia Frances. In 1845 Benjamin Leecraft III married his first cousin Mary Elizabeth Arendell, daughter of Sarah Fisher and Bridges Arendell. Mary and Benjamin III had seven children; all died as infants or young children except for Benjamin Bridges and Carolus Arendell. Their mother, Mary Elizabeth, died in 1858. The 1860 census shows a widowed Benjamin Leecraft III with three small children; his real estate value was $50,500 and personal estate was $23,000.
By 1862 the Union provost marshal granted a Boston merchant “permission to occupy the store formerly occupied by Benjamin Leecraft, the owner having joined the CSA.” Leecraft served in the Confederate Army, 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery.
Since Leecraft was not occupying his home at the corner of Ann and Orange Streets, it was taken by the Federals and used as officers’ quarters. Soldiers left axe marks in the floor of the room (now the dining room) where fire wood was stored.
Benjamin Leecraft III left Beaufort shortly after the war. It appears that Leecraft’s wealth and holdings diminished—or else he was 
discouraged by the results of the war and the Federal occupation. Leecraft married his second wife, Susan Elizabeth Stowe in 1866. Susan, who was half his age, was the daughter of Colonel Samuel Neel Stowe, M.D., who had served on the staff of General Robert E. Lee. Confederate swords carried by Captain Leecraft and Colonel Stowe became treasured possessions to Brigadier General Walter Alexander Dumas, son of Bessie Holland Leecraft and DeBerry Glenn Dumas and grandson of Benjamin Leecraft III. Leecraft’s sword was originally the property of a Masonic lodge and put into military service at a time when weapons were scarce.
Susan and Benjamin Leecraft III moved to Sherman, Texas in 1870. They had four children—Albert Stowe, Charles Fuller, Daisy Dean and Arthur Neel. Benjamin Leecraft III died in 1880 in Denison, Texas, when his oldest son Arthur was only about fourteen years old.
Arthur Neel Leecraft owned the first all-purpose store in Indian Territory--Leecraft Mercantile-- just north of Denison across the Red River by ferry. He married Lelah Maupin who was part Chickasaw. Arthur later became “Colonel” Leecraft and was very active in governmental and civic affairs in the state of Oklahoma.
Emails from Pat Fleury, Benjamin Leecraft's great-great granddaughter, gives us more insight into the family's life in Texas. Pat is the daughter of Marjorie Leecraft McMahon, daughter of Bertram Maupin Leecraft, son of Arthur Neel Leecraft.
Pat wrote, After Benjamin III left North Carolina, I couldn't find him in Texas. Finally, on a wild hunch, I found him in a California Gold Rush camp, living in a barracks with other men on the same quest. After he got that 'out of his system,' he came back to Texas. Even though genealogical records show the location as Sherman and Denison, back in those days they lived in the countryside. Even today, a person can easily get gored by a wild hog in the woods just outside of Denison,Texas.
When Arthur Neel Leecraft left to go into politics, he left my grandfather, Bertram Maupin Leecraft (b. 1894) behind to attend to Leecraft Mercantile. Back then, the only way across the Red River was by ferry boat. At first, the town was called Colbert's Ferry.
Lelah Maupin Leecraft's father, John Rice Maupin, rode with Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War. Maupin married Helen Eastman. Through Helen Eastman, we are also cousins to the Eastman Kodak people. My grandfather Bertram Maupin Leecraft could tell stories about Jesse James and other outlaws because of the Quantrill's Raiders connection. Oklahoma in those post Civil War days was really a wild wild west.
Strangely enough, the Maupins were French Huguenots in 1700's Williamsburg, Virginia. Their 'ordinary' or inn in Williamsburg was first given a liquor license in 1711. Eventually they operated three inns. The last one is now called the Taliferro-Cole House, on Lot #352 in Williamsburg.
So, the Maupins started in Virginia and the Leecrafts in North Carolina and they all wound up in Oklahoma during and after the Civil War.
I am sending old photographs from the Bessie Holland Leecraft album that I inherited from my Mom. The photo of John Rice Maupin came from an issue of Chronicles of Oklahoma.
Leecrafts are listed as members of the Virginia Company that helped colonize
A Leecraft was Governor of Bermuda under George III when many became discouraged by their lack of independence
Around 1780 several Leecraft brothers came to the colonies. It is believed that two settled in
Benjamin Leecraft II, born circa 1793, was the only male heir. In 1816 he married Mary “Polly” Fuller, descendant of the Mayflower Fullers, and daughter of Belcher Fuller and Zilphia Guthrie. They had four sons—Benjamin III, William, Lafayette and Nathan Franklin—and four daughters, Susan Benjamin, Zilphia Ann, Mary and Julia Frances. In 1845 Benjamin Leecraft III married his first cousin Mary Elizabeth Arendell, daughter of Sarah Fisher and Bridges Arendell. Mary and Benjamin III had seven children; all died as infants or young children except for Benjamin Bridges and Carolus Arendell. Their mother, Mary Elizabeth, died in 1858. The 1860 census shows a widowed Benjamin Leecraft III with three small children; his real estate value was $50,500 and personal estate was $23,000.
By 1862 the Union provost marshal granted a Boston merchant “permission to occupy the store formerly occupied by Benjamin Leecraft, the owner having joined the CSA.” Leecraft served in the Confederate Army, 2nd Regiment, North Carolina Artillery.
Since Leecraft was not occupying his home at the corner of Ann and Orange Streets, it was taken by the Federals and used as officers’ quarters. Soldiers left axe marks in the floor of the room (now the dining room) where fire wood was stored.
Benjamin Leecraft III left Beaufort shortly after the war. It appears that Leecraft’s wealth and holdings diminished—or else he was 
discouraged by the results of the war and the Federal occupation. Leecraft married his second wife, Susan Elizabeth Stowe in 1866. Susan, who was half his age, was the daughter of Colonel Samuel Neel Stowe, M.D., who had served on the staff of General Robert E. Lee. Confederate swords carried by Captain Leecraft and Colonel Stowe became treasured possessions to Brigadier General Walter Alexander Dumas, son of Bessie Holland Leecraft and DeBerry Glenn Dumas and grandson of Benjamin Leecraft III. Leecraft’s sword was originally the property of a Masonic lodge and put into military service at a time when weapons were scarce.Susan and Benjamin Leecraft III moved to Sherman, Texas in 1870. They had four children—Albert Stowe, Charles Fuller, Daisy Dean and Arthur Neel. Benjamin Leecraft III died in 1880 in Denison, Texas, when his oldest son Arthur was only about fourteen years old.
Arthur Neel Leecraft owned the first all-purpose store in Indian Territory--Leecraft Mercantile-- just north of Denison across the Red River by ferry. He married Lelah Maupin who was part Chickasaw. Arthur later became “Colonel” Leecraft and was very active in governmental and civic affairs in the state of Oklahoma. Emails from Pat Fleury, Benjamin Leecraft's great-great granddaughter, gives us more insight into the family's life in Texas. Pat is the daughter of Marjorie Leecraft McMahon, daughter of Bertram Maupin Leecraft, son of Arthur Neel Leecraft.
Pat wrote, After Benjamin III left North Carolina, I couldn't find him in Texas. Finally, on a wild hunch, I found him in a California Gold Rush camp, living in a barracks with other men on the same quest. After he got that 'out of his system,' he came back to Texas. Even though genealogical records show the location as Sherman and Denison, back in those days they lived in the countryside. Even today, a person can easily get gored by a wild hog in the woods just outside of Denison,Texas.
When Arthur Neel Leecraft left to go into politics, he left my grandfather, Bertram Maupin Leecraft (b. 1894) behind to attend to Leecraft Mercantile. Back then, the only way across the Red River was by ferry boat. At first, the town was called Colbert's Ferry.
Lelah Maupin Leecraft's father, John Rice Maupin, rode with Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War. Maupin married Helen Eastman. Through Helen Eastman, we are also cousins to the Eastman Kodak people. My grandfather Bertram Maupin Leecraft could tell stories about Jesse James and other outlaws because of the Quantrill's Raiders connection. Oklahoma in those post Civil War days was really a wild wild west.Strangely enough, the Maupins were French Huguenots in 1700's Williamsburg, Virginia. Their 'ordinary' or inn in Williamsburg was first given a liquor license in 1711. Eventually they operated three inns. The last one is now called the Taliferro-Cole House, on Lot #352 in Williamsburg.
So, the Maupins started in Virginia and the Leecrafts in North Carolina and they all wound up in Oklahoma during and after the Civil War.
I am sending old photographs from the Bessie Holland Leecraft album that I inherited from my Mom. The photo of John Rice Maupin came from an issue of Chronicles of Oklahoma.
The Leecraft Houses on Ann Street
Leecraft House in March 1862. - 307 Ann Street - mounted orderly Lt. C.M. Duser. Benjamin Leecraft II (and/or Ben III) built this 1850 house and other Leecraft houses next door on Leecraft House circa 1850 
The three Greek revival-style homes have features taken from books on architecture by Asher Benjamin. His influence is seen in its wide hall, broad staircase, large rooms with high ceilings, and distinctive woodwork. Even though plaqued 1850, 1856 and 1857, the 1857 house, on the corner of Ann and Orange, due to its construction details, may have been the first built.
Contemporary photos of the Leecraft houses:
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