William Paulding, Jr., Mayor 1824-1826 and 1827-1829: Paulding (1770 – 1854) was a member of the House of Representatives and built Lyndhurst, the Gothic Revival mansion in Tarrytown. His father, William Sr., was an enslaver but it is unclear if William Jr. was an enslaver but it appears he had free people working as indentured servants in his household under the 1799 Gradual Emancipation Law.

In the 1810 census, Paulding, Jr. had a freeperson in his household in New York City, who was likely an indentured servant. There are two residences for a William Paulding in Westchester in the censuses of 1790, 1800, and 1810. Paulding, Jr. had a woman freeperson in his household in New York City until at least 1830. She was born between 1795 and 1806. There is another woman freeperson in his household in 1819.

• The house in Greenburgh had two enslaved people in 1790, three in 1800, and two in 1810.
• There is also a house in Mount Pleasant. In 1790 it had no enslaved persons. In 1800, it had nine household members. In 1810, it had a freeperson in the household. Based on the ages of the inhabitants, this appears to be Paulding, Jr.’s house, but it is unclear because households often had multiple generations and Paulding, Jr. kept a house in New York City. [1]
• In the 1819 jury census, there are two females in the category of “coloured inhabitants, not slaves” living at his household at 326 Greenwich Street in New York City.[2]
• In the 1820 census, there is a female “free colored person” of fourteen and under twenty-six living in Paulding, Jr.’s household in New York City.
• In the 1830 census, there is a female “free colored person” of thirty-six and under fifty-five living in Paulding, Jr.’s household in New York City. The house in Mount Pleasant is also listed, which is Paulding, Jr.’s after the death of his father in 1824.[3]
• 1840 Census: two “free colored persons:” male and female ages 24-35[4]

[1] Northeast Slavery Records Index: Index does not have 1790 census; Paulding, Jr. does not appear in the Washington Post database; 1790 and 1800 Federal Census records for Westchester County, Ancestry.com

[2] NYC Archives, Jury Ward Census, 1819, Volume 10, Ward 5, 1819, image p.118

[3] 1820 and 1830 Census search, Ancestry.com

[4]1840 Census search,  New York City, Ward 5, Ancestry.com

Copyright 2025 Paul Hortenstine