John Paul (June 30, 1839 – November 1, 1901) was a United States representative from Virginia and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.[1]

John Paul
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
In office
March 3, 1883 – November 1, 1901
Appointed byChester A. Arthur
Preceded byAlexander Rives
Succeeded byHenry C. McDowell Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 7th district
In office
March 4, 1881 – September 5, 1883
Preceded byJohn T. Harris
Succeeded byCharles Triplett O'Ferrall
Member of the Senate of Virginia from Rockingham County
In office
1878–1881
Preceded bySamuel H. Moffett
Succeeded byJoseph B. Webb
Personal details
Born
John Paul

(1839-06-30)June 30, 1839
Ottobine, Virginia, US
DiedNovember 1, 1901(1901-11-01) (aged 62)
Harrisonburg, Virginia, US
Resting placeWoodbine Cemetery, Harrisonburg, Virginia, US
Political partyReadjuster
ChildrenJohn Paul Jr.
Parents
  • Peter Paul (father)
  • Maria Whitmer (mother)
EducationUniversity of Virginia School of Law (LL.B.)
Occupationfarmer, lawyer, politician, judge
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
RankColonel
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early life and education

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Born on June 30, 1839, near Ottobine, Rockingham County, Virginia, to the former Maria Whitmer and her farmer husband, Peter Paul.[2][3] His ancestors had fled religious persecution in France and traveled to Germany, and his grandfather Jacob Paul emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean in 1775, when he was just seventeen, then enlisted in the Revolutionary Army and served as a drummer boy at the Battle of Bunker Hill and later as a soldier with the rank of private. After the conflict, he emigrated to Rockingham County, where his wife gave birth to Peter Paul, this boy's father. His maternal ancestors, the Whitmers, were among the German emigrants who settled in the Shenandoah Valley in the late 18th century.[2] Paul attended the common schools, then taught at a similar country school for a year in order to earn money for further education. In the fall of 1860, Paul traveled to the Valley's southern end and enrolled at Roanoke College in Salem. However, before the spring term finished, Virginia had seceded from the Union, and John Paul volunteered to fight for his native state, as described below.[4][2] After surviving the conflict, the 26 year old Paul traveled to Charlottesville to study law under John B. Minor. He received a Bachelor of Laws in 1867 from the University of Virginia School of Law.[3]

American Civil War

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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). Although all agree he served until the final days of the war, accounts differ as to his term with the Salem Artillery and the subsequent cavalry unit. By one account, within a month, both brothers had transferred to the 1st Virginia Cavalry where their brother Peter Paul Jr. (1842–1906) had enlisted. Another account has him serving as lieutenant of Company I of the 5th Virginia Cavalry.[2] Both accounts agree that during the Second Manassas Campaign, John Paul was severely wounded during a night charge 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,[5] and may have been promoted captain.

Early career

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Admitted to the bar, Paul began a private legal practice in Harrisonburg, the Rockingham County seat. In his second year, he successfully ran to become commonwealth's attorney (prosecutor), and won re-election until 1877, when Paul instead ran for legislative office.[3] While the Commonwealth Attorney, Paul was allowed to have a civil practice, and he had a large and comparatively lucrative roster of bankruptcy cases.[2] In 1877, voters from Rockingham and nearby counties elected Paul to the Senate of Virginia (a part-time position which allowed him to continue his legal practice) and re-elected him in 1879, at which time he aligned with the Readjuster Party.[3][6] Paul also campaigned for the party's gubernatorial candidate, former CSA General Mahone, who did not win, but later became a U.S. Senator in part through Paul's advocacy in the state senate.[7] Paul's father, Peter Paul, drowned in the Dry River on November 27, 1878, four days before the brother of his some-time rival, Sen. John F. Lewis, drowned in the South Shenandoah River.[8] Col. (later Gov.) Charles T. O'Ferrall, who practiced law in Rockingham County before his political career, called Paul "one of the ablest prosecuting attorneys I have ever known".[9]

Congressional service

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Between his Virginia senate victories, Paul ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1878, however, he failed to defeat unpopular incumbent congressman John T. Harris, who again served in the 46th United States Congress, in part because several other Readjusters also ran for the same seat. Although Paul outpolled fellow Readjusters Riddleberger, Henry C. Allen of Shenandoah County and Moffett months before the election, Rev. John E. Massey withdrew late in the campaign and Gen. John Echols of Staunton withdrew in the final days.[4][10] However, this led to formal organization of the Readjuster party, and two years later Paul defeated Judge Henry C. Allen (who ran as a Democrat). He thus represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives during the 47th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1883.[4][7] However, both these campaigns were close and led to legal contests, which Paul won in 1881. He presented credentials as a member-elect to the 48th United States Congress and served from March 4, 1883, until September 5, 1883, despite another ongoing legal contest. Paul resigned after President Arthur appointed him as a federal judge as described below.[4] Thus, Paul's opponent in that election, fellow CSA veteran Charles Triplett O'Ferrall received the seat.[4]

Federal judicial service

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President Chester A. Arthur nominated Paul on February 27, 1883, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia vacated by the late Judge Alexander Rives.[3] The United States Senate on March 3, 1883, and received his commission the same day.[3] His service terminated on November 1, 1901, due to his death in Harrisonburg.[3] He was interred in Woodbine Cemetery in Harrisonburg.[4]

Personal life

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Paul married Kate Seymour Green of Warren County, who bore four sons and three daughters, of whom all but one son survived their father.[11] His namesake son John Paul Jr. followed his father's career as a Virginia state senator, United States representative, and finally a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.[4]

Legacy

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Paul dedicated a new courthouse in Harrisonburg in 1896, and delivered a carefully prepared historical address concerning the local bar.[12] Paul donated part of the family's farm in Ottobine, Virginia to become the Paul State Forest.[13]

Electoral history

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References

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  1. ^ John T. Harris, "John Paul...Tribute' 8 Va.L.Reg. (1902-1903 pp. 393-400
  2. ^ a b c d e tribute
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Paul, John - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g United States Congress. "John Paul (id: P000144)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  5. ^ Robert J. Driver, Jr. First Virginia Cavalry (Virginia Regimental History Series), H.E. Howard Inc. 1991) p. 215
  6. ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard (ed), The General Assembly of Virginia 1619-1978: A Bicentennial Register of Members (Richmond, 1978) pp. 528, 531
  7. ^ a b tribute pp. 394-395
  8. ^ John W. Wayland, A History of Rockingham County, Virginia (1912, republished C.j. Carrier Company, Harrisonburg 1996) p. 437
  9. ^ Wayland p. 359
  10. ^ tribute pp. 395-6
  11. ^ tribute p. 400
  12. ^ John W. Wayland, Historic Harrisonburg (C.J. Carrier Company, Harrisonburg, 1990 reprint of 1949 edition) p. 212
  13. ^ "Paul State Forest". Virginia Department of Forestry. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Virginia Elections Database » Candidate Profile » John Paul (R)". Virginia Elections Database. Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  15. ^ Harris, John T. (1902). "John Paul". The Virginia Law Register. 8 (6): 396. ISSN 1547-1357. JSTOR 1100909. Retrieved January 2, 2023.

Sources

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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 7th congressional district

1881–1883
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
1883–1901
Succeeded by