Author: Paulding, James Kirke
Biography:
PAULDING, James Kirke (1778-1860: ANBO)
The son of a ship's captain, William Paulding, and his wife Catharine Ogden, he became secretary of the navy and a multi-faceted popular writer. Paulding was born in Dutchess County NY, attended school only until he was twelve, and educated himself thereafter. He was a clerk in New York City from about 1795 to 1815, then secretary to the Board of Navy Commissioners, navy agent of New York, and finally (1838-41) navy secretary under Van Buren. In 1818 he married Gertrude Kemble, with whom he had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. He began his literary career by writing for a newspaper, the Morning Chronicle, and then in 1807-8 joined its editor Peter Irving and Peter's brother Washington Irving in Salmagundi, a magazine that specialized in satirical sketches of New York society. (One of their shared aliases--like the "Mr. Spectator" of a century earlier--was Launcelot Longstaff.) In the years that followed Paulding produced prose satires attacking the British, novels and short stories, accounts of travels, and many contributions to annuals and periodicals. He supervised the publication of his works in fifteen volumes in 1835-9 but then added a biography of Washington for children, more collections of stories, two more novels, a defence of slavery in the US, and a volume of closet dramas. After Van Buren was defeated and following the death of his wife, Paulding bought a farm near Hyde Park NY where he lived for the rest of his life. (ANBO 13 June 2020) HJ
Other Names:
- J. K. Paulding