Lesage, West Virginia
| Lesage, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place (CDP) | |
 Location in Cabell County and the state of West Virginia. |
|
| Coordinates: 38°30′23″N 82°17′55″W / 38.50639°N 82.29861°WCoordinates: 38°30′23″N 82°17′55″W / 38.50639°N 82.29861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Cabell |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.234 sq mi (18.74 km2) |
| • Land | 6.095 sq mi (15.79 km2) |
| • Water | 1.139 sq mi (2.95 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,358 |
| • Density | 190/sq mi (72/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
Lesage is a census-designated place (CDP) on Ohio River Road in Cabell County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,358. It is the nearest community to Clover Site, a National Historic Landmark.
Lesage is a part of the Huntington-Ashland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 363,000.
The community was named after Jules F. M. LeSage, an early settler. Jules-François-Marie Lesage was the eldest child of Michel-François Lesage 1788-1866) and his wife Marie-Josephine Duval (1787-1863) of Paris. French state records note his birth on July 15, 1811, though he later claimed his birthday as July 14—Bastille Day. His parents had him baptized at the ancient Church of Saint-Gervais in the 4th Arrondissement, where the family lived. Lesage père was a prosperous manufacturer of printed wallpaper and hat boxes. Raised under the restored Bourbon monarchy and the successor regime of Louis Philippe, young Jules reportedly espoused dangerous republican sympathies. In the early 1830s, following service with the French army in Algeria, he immigrated to New York City where his father established him in the family business. [There is some evidence that Michel Lesage and another son, François-Achille Lesage, were also in New York in the early 1830s, though Michel at least returned to Paris]
On June 20, 1835 Jules (or Julius) Lesage married Marie Magdeleine Tessier Bellemère (1804-1882) at St. Peter's Catholic Church in lower Manhattan. Marie (or Mary) Lesage was a Paris-born widow. The couple settled first in New York City, then moved for a few years to Philadelphia, finally returning to New York where Lesage continued the family business of manufacturing "Paper hangings and hatter's boxes." The couple had three sons: Francis Julius (b.1836), Joseph Achilles (b. 1838), and Leo Horace (b. 1842). Leo died in 1843 during the family's extended visit to Paris (1842-1843).
Lesage possessed a restless temperament and he seemed always to be looking for the next object of fascination, whether a new avocation, new scenery or a new woman. His roving spirit prompted him to give up his life in New York and embark on an adventure in the western wilds. His grandson Joseph C. LeSage recalled the great migration:
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