Paul, Hosea

Hosea Paul, Jr., was a surveyor and Cuyahoga County (Ohio) recorder, 1912-21, who introduced the use of the Torrens system of land registration and title transfer into Cuyahoga Co., as well as an improved indexing system for recording land titles and transactions. A civil and consulting engineer, Paul was auditor of Summit County, Ohio in 1874 and deputy surveyor at Akron and Cleveland. He prepared maps for publication and tax purposes for cities and counties in Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere. Paul resurveyed the Lake Erie & Western Railroad and was chief engineer for the Toledo & Western Railway Co. in 1891. In Akron, he directed the affairs of the survey firm Paul Brothers (also known as H. Paul & Co.) in 1875-76, and came to Cleveland in 1878. He was one of seven children of Hosea Paul (1809-70), long-time surveyor of Summit County, and, in 1875 married Emma Plum. Paul was one of the organizers of the Cleveland Engineering Society in 1880. A protege of mayors Tom L. Johnson and Newton D. Baker, he exemplified the Progressive ideal of bringing professionalism and sound business practices to the operation of government.

From the description of Papers, 1830-1923. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 23664712

Hosea Paul (1845-1923) was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on January 17, 1845. His parents, Hosea and Ellen Gamble Paul, were early settlers of the region, traveling from Vermont to Ohio in 1834. Hosea, one of the youngest of seven children, followed his father's and older brothers' professional interests in surveying and trained under their tutelage. While Hosea's father and brothers served in the American Civil War, he managed the family's surveying business, completing Summit County maps and surveys. After 1864, Paul participated in relief work for the Army of the Potomac, City Point, Virginia, and from 1865 to 1866, he surveyed Oil Creek and Pithole, Pennsylvania. Returning to Akron in 1866, Paul served for a period of time as City Engineer and County Auditor. During his surveying career, he prepared city maps and atlases, including ones for Wabash County, Indiana, and Cleveland, Ohio. He worked for fifteen years in railroad surveying and construction in Detroit and Toledo and served as assistant engineer for the Cleveland Park System and as Deputy Surveyor for Cuyahoga County. In 1875, Hosea Paul married Emma Plum, whose family members were early settlers in Cuyahoga Falls. Well-read and intelligent, she accompanied her husband on many of his surveying travels in the Midwest. Their only child, Katie Eveline, died of diphtheria at the age of ten. Emma died in 1913 in Cleveland of heart failure. Paul took office in 1913 as Cuyahoga County Recorder, being familiar with land division and transfer laws, and he was easily reelected in 1916. During his tenure as County Recorder, he proposed that the Torrens System, a progressive system of land transfer laws, be adopted by Cuyahoga County. He held his position of County Recorder until his voluntary retirement. During his later years, Paul was elected to the Board of Education in Cleveland and was a founding member of the Cleveland Engineering Society. He was also active in the City Club and the Cleveland Real Estate Board and was a director of the Associate Investment Company and the Summit County Bank. Paul was well-known for his historical addresses and writings regarding the pioneer settlement of the Western Reserve and the history of oil development.

From the guide to the Hosea Paul Papers, 1830-1923, (Western Reserve Historical Society)