Le Claire

The Five Key Answers

How Far Back Does the LeClaire Family Tree Go?

This page gathers, in one place, the direct answers to the questions most often asked about the depth of the published LeClaire pedigree — how far back it goes, who the earliest recorded ancestor is, how it reaches beyond Mengin Le Clerc and the withdrawn Johannes von Mengen identification, how Brandon “Bran” LeClaire connects to Wigeric, and how the surname line differs from the complete ancestry. Every generation is listed in plain text with its evidence status; unresolved links are labelled, never presented as proven. See also the canonical pedigree, the family history and Bran’s profile.

How far back does the LeClaire family tree go?

How far back does the LeClaire family tree go?
The published pedigree follows both paternal and maternal ancestry, including families whose surnames differ from LeClaire. The continuously evidenced line reaches Sicard (Simon II) de Parroye, 30 generations above Brandon “Bran” LeClaire. The wider displayed pedigree reaches Wigeric of Lotharingia (before 922), 36 generations above Bran, and the Carolingian branch above him (Charlemagne and Hildegard of the Vinzgau, 41 generations), with specific links labelled Under Active Research.
Who is the earliest recorded ancestor in the LeClaire family pedigree?
On a continuous evidenced chain, Sicard (Simon II) de Parroye. The earliest person displayed is Charlemagne and Hildegard of the Vinzgau, reached through links under active research. Mengin Le Clerc (Lorraine act of 1355) is the earliest bearer of the Le Clerc surname, not the earliest ancestor of the pedigree.
Does LeClaire ancestry extend beyond Mengin and Johannes von Mengen?
Yes. The published LeClaire family pedigree extends beyond the LeClaire, Le Clerc and Mengen surname line. Through maternal ancestry — Mengin Le Clerc’s wife Catherine de Gircourt — it follows the Gircourt, Toullon, Haute-Pierre, Froville and Parroye families, and on to Metz, Verdun and the Ardennes ancestry of Wigeric. Johann III von Mengen is a different person from Mengin Le Clerc; that former identification is withdrawn.
How is Brandon “Bran” LeClaire connected to Wigeric?
Through 36 parent-to-child links, listed generation by generation below, passing through Catherine de Gircourt and her son Colin Le Clerc. The connections Gottfried of Metz → Simon de Parroye; Simon de Parroye → Sicard (Simon II) de Parroye are under active research, so the route to Wigeric is shown with that qualification and is not presented as fully proven.
What is the difference between the LeClaire surname line and the complete family ancestry?
The surname line follows the name itself — Le Clerc, Leclair, Licklär, LeClaire — from Mengin Le Clerc in 1355. The complete ancestry follows every parent, so it continues through mothers and wives’ families whose surnames differ. A change of surname does not end the pedigree; a spouse’s ancestors are counted as Brandon’s only where the connecting descent is recorded.

Every generation from Wigeric to Bran

  1. 36. Wigeric of Lotharingia (Died before 922) · Published Genealogy · sources
  2. 35. Gozlin of Bidgau (c. 910 to c. 943) · Published Genealogy · sources
  3. 34. Godfrey "the Captive" of Verdun (c. 935 to c. 1005) · Contemporary Record · sources
  4. 33. Gerberge of Verdun (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  5. 32. Gottfried of Metz (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  6. 31. Simon de Parroye (Dates not established) · Under Active Research · sources
  7. 30. Sicard (Simon II) de Parroye (Dates not established) · Under Active Research · sources
  8. 29. Odoin I de Froville (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  9. 28. Odon II de Froville (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  10. 27. Simon de Froville (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  11. 26. Simon I de Parroye (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  12. 25. Albert de Parroye (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  13. 24. Albert de Haute-Pierre (c. 1172 to c. 1222) · Published Genealogy · sources
  14. 23. Albert de Haute-Pierre (Died 20 October 1231) · Published Genealogy · sources
  15. 22. Liébaud de Haute-Pierre (Died 1281) · Published Genealogy · sources
  16. 21. Marguerite de Haute-Pierre (Dates not established) · Published Genealogy · sources
  17. 20. Thiébaud (Liébaud) de Toullon (late 13th century to c. 1343) · Published Genealogy · sources
  18. 19. Catherine de Haute-Pierre (Born late 13th / early 14th century) · Published Genealogy · sources
  19. 18. Catherine de Gircourt (c. 1320 to after 1355) · Published Genealogy · sources
  20. 17. Colin Le Clerc (Dates not established) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  21. 16. Jehan Leclerc de Pulligny (c. 1410 to c. 1465) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  22. 15. Mengin II Le Clerc (Dates not established) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  23. 14. Claude Leclerc de Pulligny (c. 1485 to 1562) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  24. 13. Claude II Leclerc de Pulligny (1532 to 1598) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  25. 12. Alexandre Le Clerc de Pulligny (1585 to after 1659) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  26. 11. Nicolas Le Clerc (1624 to 1660) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  27. 10. Alexandre II Le Clerc (1652 to 1695) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  28. 9. François 'Pierre' Le Claire (Born 1684) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  29. 8. Jean Pierre Le Claire, Très Noble Seigneur (1718 to 1793) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  30. 7. 'Louis Benjamin' Jean Baptiste Alexis Leclaire (24 June 1754 to 29 July 1825) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  31. 6. Johann Baptiste Le Clair (Born 1796) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  32. 5. Gottfried Leclair (1842 to 1915) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  33. 4. Julius Leclair (1880 to 1961) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  34. 3. Bernhardine Licklär (1920 to 1978) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  35. 2. Monika Ute Licklär (Born 1944) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  36. 1. Andrea Michaela Tai-Noble (Born 1966) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources
  37. 0. Brandon Odo Van der Vyvere Noble LeClaire (Born 1995) · LeClaire Family Archive · sources

Numbers give generations above Bran. The evidence label on each person describes the record of their parentage.