Obit: Joseph Victor Lesage, Sr, Grant Parish La
Submitted by: Houston Tracy, Jr.


The Colfax Chronicle
1935 - No complete date shown

Former librarian, Helen Sorrell, at the Grant Parish Library had gone through
some of the microfilm of the newspaper files of the Chronicle and made copies
of obituaries and/or news items, which led to death.
These were found in a folder on the book shelf at that library on a research
trip there 13 February 1999.
Copies were made and then extracted to post here in the LaGenWeb archives for
Grant Parish.
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J.V. LeSage Sr., 83, Died Thursday Night At His Home Here

     Mr. Joseph Victor LeSage, aged 83 years, 5 months and 29 days, a well
known and highly respected citizen of Colfax for more than half a century,
died at his home here, the LeSage Hotel, Thursday night, March 21 1935, at
11:30 o'clock, after an illness of but a few days.  For several years passed,
Mr. LeSage had grown feeble in health, as in general for one of his years, and
for the past two months had been forced to remain indoors.  He was stricken
with a serious heart attack on Wednesday, from which he never rallied, and
death came Thursday night to end his earthly life.
     The death of "Captain Bob" as Mr. LeSage was so generally known, removes
one of Colfax's oldest citizens, a resident here for the past 57 years.  Mr.
LeSage was born in Baton Rouge on Sept. 22, 1851, and grew to manhood there. 
As a young man he became affilliated with the state penitentiary system, and
it was there that he earned the title "Captain Bob", being in charge of
convict crews in building levees and other public work.
     It was thus that he came to central Louisiana in 1877, in charge of a
crew of convicts and laborers, then building the Texas and Pacific railroad
across the river (Red River).  About a year later, he came to Colfax to make
it his home.  Shortly after this, he engaged in the merchantile business,
operating a drug store in connection, and for years was the only pharmacist in
this section.  About forty years ago, he started the LeSage Hotel in Colfax
and continued its operation, until a few years ago, when traveling transients
ceased to use Colfax as a stop-over point.  (The period of America's use of
the automobile)