Joseph H. Diss Debar

The son of Francis Joseph Diss Debar — the estate manager for Cardinal Prince de Rohan — he was educated at schools in Strasbourg, Colmar, Muhlhausen, and Paris.

His move was occasioned by his pursuit of his intended, Clara Levassor (1829–1849) — then a mere 13 years old — whose family had settled in Parkersburg, Virginia on the Ohio River.

Diss Debar was hired in 1846 by John Peter Dumas of Paris as agent for a 10,000-acre tract on Cove Creek in newly created Doddridge County, Virginia.

The seal devised by Diss Debar is 2.5 inches in diameter and bears the motto Montani Semper Liberi (Latin, "Mountaineers Always Free").

(The reverse side, rarely displayed, depicts emblematic objects typical of West Virginia's landscape, productions, resources, and natives grouped inside an encircling wreath of laurel and oak.)

Governor Boreman appointed Diss Debar commissioner of immigration in 1864 in which capacity he recruited labor and landowners from abroad until the end of his term in 1871.

[3] He was a member of the House of Delegates representing Doddridge in 1864 and he prepared, compiled and published the first The West Virginia Hand-Book and Immigrant's Guide (1870).

His characteristic Van Dyke beard, cloak and high silk hat, and the habitual twirling of his cane are said to have made him instantly recognizable.