The Hosea Paul Family Papers, 1856-1923 and undated, consist of diaries, personal correspondence and account books, genealogical research material, newspaper clippings, and surveying notes, correspondence, proposals, maps, and blueprints and other professional material collected during Paul's career as a surveyor and Cuyahoga County Recorder.
This is an informative collection of material, concerning not only Paul's surveys in the Akron and Cuyahoga Falls and his work in Cleveland, but also his interests in family genealogy and the history of the areas where he lived and worked. Historians interested in later 19th century surveys for counties and railroads and how surveyors' businesses operated during this time will find the material in this collection useful, especially the expense account books and project proposals. While serving as Cuyahoga County Recorder, Paul became an enthusiastic supporter of the Torrens System of land registration, and this interest is well documented in the manuscript collection. In addition, genealogists of the Paul family and related families might find Paul's own family research notes helpful. Historians of Cuyahoga Falls and Cleveland will also find of interest Paul's collection of writings, speeches, and newspaper clippings about the history of those areas.