1. Early and family life

2. Confederate officer

3. Legal, legislative and judicial career

4. Death and legacy

5. Electoral history

6. References

Early and family life

Born June 30, 1839 in Rockingham County, Virginia at Ottobine on June 30, 1839 to Peter Paul (1812-1878]] and his wife the former Maria Whitmore (1812-1903), John Paul had an older sister Kate (1837-1905) and had three younger brothers and three sisters who survived to adulthood. He attended the local schools. He had begun studies at Roanoke College when the American Civil War began and Virginia declared its secession. After the war, Paul studied law at the University of Virginia, and graduated in 1867.

He married Katherine Seymour Green (1847-1927) on November 19, 1874. They had three sons and three daughters who survived them, although their first son, John Rockingham Paul (1877-1879) did not survive infancy. Their son, John Paul, also became a U.S. congressman for Virginia's 7th district and federal judge for the Western District of Virginia.

Confederate officer

During the Civil War, John Paul entered the Confederate States Army as a private in the Salem Artillery on May 1, 1861 along with his brother Paul (1846-1937), but by month's end, both had transferred to the 1st Virginia Cavalry where their brother Peter Paul Jr. (1842-1906) had enlisted. John Paul was wounded at Catlett's Station on August 22, 1862, returned to action and was promoted to 3rd lieutenant, then was wounded again and captured during the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 7, 1864 and imprisoned at Fort Delaware. He was released on June 16, 1865,^[3] and may have been promoted captain.

Legal, legislative and judicial career

Paul was admitted to the bar in 1867 and commenced practice in Harrisonburg. He served as the Commonwealth's attorney for Rockingham County from 1870 to 1877.

After restoration of civil rights to Confederate veterans, Paul won election to represent Rockingham County in the Virginia Senate, and served one term in that part-time position, from 1877 to 1880.^[4] In 1878 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Forty-sixth Congress.

In 1880, John Paul defeated both Republican and Democratic opponents to win election as a Readjuster Democrat to the Forty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883), succeeding John T. Harris. He appeared to win re-election and served from March 4, 1883, until September 5, 1883, when he resigned to take his judicial position. However, the seemingly losing candidate, Democrat Charles Triplett O'Ferrall, had demanded a recount and was ultimately determined the victor in the 1882 campaign, and would win re-election several times before resigning to run for Governor of Virginia (and winning in 1893).

President Chester A. Arthur nominated John Paul to become judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.After confirmation by the Senate, he filled the seat vacated by Alexander Rives.

Death and legacy

Judge Paul served as federal judge from September 5, 1883, until his death in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on November 1, 1901. He dedicated a new courthouse in Harrisonburg in 1896, and delivered a carefully prepared historical address concerning the local bar.^[5] Judge John Paul was survived by his widow and six children, and interred in Woodbine Cemetery.^[6] President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Henry C. McDowell Jr., who succeeded Judge Paul after confirmation by the Senate. Although the Readjuster Party did not survive into the 20th Century, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually agreed with part of its platform and allocated part of Virginia's pre-Civil War debt to what became West Virginia in that war.

His son, John Paul Jr., also became a lawyer, and served as U.S. Representative and judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He donated part of the family's farm in Ottobine, Virginia to become the Paul State Forest.

Electoral history

• 1880; Paul was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 49.3% of the vote, defeating Democrat Henry C. Allen (Virginia) and Republican William C. Moseley.
• 1882; Paul appeared re-elected with 50.2% of the vote, defeating Democrat Charles T. O'Ferrall (who was later declared the winner) and Republican James W. Cochran.

References

• The New York Entomological Society
• The New Yorker (festival)
• The New Yorker Presents
• The New Yorker Radio Hour
• The New York Evening Post
• The New York Group of Poets
• The new york institute for special education
• The New York Jazz Quartet in Chicago
• The New York Jazz Repertory Company
• The New York Palace Hotel
• The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation
• The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
• The New York Review
• The New York Review of Books people
• The New York Review of Magazines
• The New York Stem Cell Foundation
• The New-York Times
• The New York Times anonymous publications
• The New York Times best-seller list
• The New York Times Bestseller list
• The New York Times Best Sellers
• The New York Times Best Sellers list
• The New York Times best-sellers list
• The New York Times Cooking
• The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1931