I believe Mr. Lesage was born in New York. I'm guessing that he was part of Eli Thayer's abolitionist colony set up in Cabell County in 1857. My great-great grandfather was the town blacksmith in Guyandotte and was a secessionist, and the Union army burned Guyandotte to the ground. Cabell County is listed among the secessionist counties because of their animosity to the new state.

This is from West Virginia History magazine by Joe Geiger:

Despite the troops' departure, Confederate sympathy remained rampant in Cabell County, especially in Guyandotte. Property and livestock were stolen from Union sympathizers and some were forced to flee into Ohio.
Among the refugees were John S. Witcher and Granville Parker, both of whom became active in West Virginia politics and government.
William McComas, the Cabell County delegate to the convention which decided the fate of the Old Dominion, voted against secession, as would a majority of the county's voters one month later. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer declared the county's vote misleading, however, and noted that Guyandotte in particular was a "hot bed of secession."

No disrespect to your ancestor, but in dealing with West Virginia history the appearances can be very deceptive.