Joseph H. Diss Debar
Joseph Hubert Diss Debar | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 6, 1820 Strasbourg, France |
| Died | January 13, 1905 (aged 84) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations | artist politician |
| Spouse(s) | Clara Levassor Amelia Cain |
Joseph Hubert Diss Debar (March 6, 1820 – January 13, 1905) was a French-born American artist and politician who designed the Seal of West Virginia in 1863. He served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates representing Doddridge County in 1864. He founded the German-Swiss immigrant colony of St. Clara, West Virginia, and served as West Virginia commissioner of immigration from 1864 to 1871. He published The West Virginia Hand-Book and Immigrant's Guide. A Sketch of the State of West Virginia. Because of his efforts, many Swiss farmers emigrated to West Virginia and founded the Town of Helvetia.
He left his second wife and lived with the notorious medium and fraudster, Ann O'Delia Diss Debar in New York City. Although she took his last name, they were never married but did have children together. They were both charged and sentenced to six months in jail for defrauding a lawyer with fake spiritualism.