Sketches by Diss Debar
Joseph H. Diss Debar, designer of the West Virginia State Seal, was a prolific artist. Here are a few of his sketches that pertain to Doddridge County. The originals can be found at the WV Division of Culture & History Library in Charleston, WV, and the WV & Regional History Center in Morgantown, WV. Except for the photo of Diss Debar, the photos used here are from the History Center in Motgantown.
Title: My first Office in the Colony (St. Clara Colony)
Bernard and Margaret Schaeffer, 1846
Bernard and Margaret Schaeffer from Hanover, Germany, landed in Baltimore in July 1843. They sailed to America aboard the Clementine with their two sons, Alexander and Joseph. In the 1850 Census Bernard, Margaret and Joseph were living in St. Clara, the next-door-neighbors of Joseph H. Diss Debar.
Bernard was a blacksmith and Margaret was a midwife. Bernard died sometime between 1860 and 1870. Margaret lived well into her 80s, still listed as a midwife in the 1870 census. Their death dates and burial locations are unknown.
Eli B. Tucker, fiddler and member of
E Clampus Vitus (ECV)
Jacob and Catharina Ruppert, 1846
Jacob Anton Ruppert married Catharina Weimbach in 1833 in Westhofen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. They sailed to America aboard the Elizabeth Denison with three children, landing in New York on December 31, 1841.
According to documents on file at the Doddridge County Court House, Jacob Ruppert filed his intent to become a citizen of the United States on March 19, 1851. According to his statement, he was born in 1805 in Westhoffen, Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt in the Confederation of Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1841, lived in Maryland one year, then moved to Doddridge County (Law File #175). He was granted American citizenship on May 21,1855 in Doddridge County. His character witnesses were Joseph H. Diss Debar and Job Stout. (Recorded in Law Order Book 1, pages 353 and 354, on file at the office of the Doddridge County Circuit Clerk)
Jacob died in 1893 and Catharina died in 1894. Both are buried in the St. Clara Catholic Cemetery on Little Buck Run, Cove District.
August 1859, John Brown and Diss Debar on the Clarksburg to Shinnston Road.
Ephraim Bee 1861 giving his
Stump Speech.
Joseph Jeffery Jr, Samuel Archbold and Nathan Davis.
The Great Mud Hole in West Union. Notice the Covered Bridge in the background.
Debar Sawmill 1862.