William Paulding Jr.

William Paulding Jr. was a United States representative from New York and the 57th and 59th mayor of New York City. He was the adjutant general of New York for two non-consecutive terms.

Early life

Paulding was born in the Upper Mills section of colonial Philipsburg Manor in the Province of New York on March 7, 1770. He was the son of William Paulding Sr., a wealthy shop owner and Revolutionary War veteran, and the brother of Julia Paulding, Catharine Paulding, and James Kirke Paulding, the United States Secretary of the Navy under President Martin Van Buren. Paulding was a cousin of Revolutionary War hero John Paulding, one of the captors of Major John André. Paulding's ancestors were among the early Dutch settlers of the area.

He completed preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New York.
He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Twelfth Congress, holding office from March 4, 1811, to March 3, 1813, and was a brigadier general of the New York militia. He served in the War of 1812 and was a delegate to the New York constitutional convention in 1821.
Paulding was Adjutant General of New York. He served two non-consecutive terms as Mayor of New York City, from 1825 to 1826 and again from 1827 to 1829.

Paulding was married to Maria Rhinelander. Together, they were the parents of:

Frederick W. Paulding, the father of Julia Rhinelander Paulding who married Col. Richard Irving Dodge.

He purchased a summer estate in the Tarrytown area, where he was born, and built a mansion there, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1838. He called the house Knoll, but it was often referred to as "Paulding's folly" because of its unusual design that included fanciful turrets, pointed arches, and an asymmetrical outline, all of which was unlike most homes of the time. It was later renamed Lyndhurst and donated by its last owner, railroad tycoon Jay Gould's daughter Anna Gould, to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
He died in his Knoll mansion on February 11, 1854, and was buried in the Paulding family vault at the Old Dutch Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Paulding Avenue in The Bronx is named after him.