William Paulding (1735-1825)

He settled on a farm in Westchester County, New York, and was firmly behind the patriotic cause - he was the uncle of John Paulding who would later become noteworthy as the captor of the British spy Major André. However, on account of the hostility of his Tory neighbors, shortly before the Revolution Paulding moved with his family to Dutchess County, pitching a tent at Nine-Partners. When Revolution came, he was appointed a Member of the Committee of Safety before going on to serve as a Member of the Provincial Congress and Commissary-General of the State Militia. While the army was suffering from want of supplies, he made use of his own credit among the farmers in Westchester County and became responsible for large sums of money.

When the war ended, Paulding presented his accounts to the Auditor-General who rejected the farmer's loans on the grounds that he had never had the authority to makes pledges on behalf of the government. Paulding retired a ruined man and was thrown into prison by his creditors. Six years later, the prison burned down and he made his escape, returning unmolested to his home. He lived out his remaining days in poverty and depression, and it was his wife, "a woman of indomitable will, combined with great industry and economy" who looked after their surviving children: Their elder daughter married a Member of the New York State Assembly and the younger married U.S. Congressman William Irving, brother of the celebrated Washington Irving. Their elder son, William, was twice Mayor of New York and built Lyndhurst, while their younger son, James, was a member of the Knickerbocker Group and U.S. Secretary of the Navy.