James Fenimore Cooper b. 15 Sep 1789 Burlington, New Jersey d. 14 Sep 1851 Cooperstown, Otsego, New York: The McKenzies of Early Maryland

1789 - 1851 (61 years)

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Name	James Fenimore Cooper [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Birth	15 Sep 1789	Burlington, New Jersey [1, 2, 5]
Gender	Male
College	Jan 1803	New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut [4]
Military	Sep 1806 [4]
Politics	22 May 1827	Lyons, , Rhône-Alpes, France
Value of Real Estate	26 Sep 1850	Otsego, Otsego, New York [5]
Residence	26 Sep 1850	Otsego, Otsego, New York [5]
Burial	Sep 1851	Cooperstown, Otsego, New York [1, 2]
Death	14 Sep 1851	Cooperstown, Otsego, New York [1, 2]
Notes	occupation: author. $11,000. James Fenimore Cooper Birth: Sep. 15, 1789 Death: Sep. 14, 1851 American Author. He was the first major American novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories as well as historical romances known as the "Leatherstock Tales," a series of frontier adventure novels featuring fictional character Natty Pumppo who lives free, close to nature while the settlers bring civilization that destroys the wilderness, "The Last of the Mohicans" an adventure story set in the Lake Champlain area is considered the Centerpiece of the series and is the best known having been made into a number of movies while television has utilized the story in numerous programs. However, James Fenimore Cooper considered Leatherstock novels "The Pathfinder" and "The Deerslayer" his best works. The prolific writer wrote over thirty novels before his death at his boyhood home, Otsego Hall in Cooperstown, New York a day shy of his sixty second birthday. Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, the eleventh of twelve children to Quakers, William and Elisabeth Fenimore Cooper, his father a Judge and a member of Congress became wealthy as a land developer. When James was one, his family moved to the wild untamed area of Otsego Lake, New York where his father established a settlement on his vast holdings which became Cooperstown, New York. Young James loved the wilderness which surrounded the family home, roaming at will while developing a love of nature which would become the hallmark of his books. He was educated in the small one room village school, then further tutored by the rector of St. Peter's Church, then sent to Albany for higher education and finally enrolled at Yale at age fourteen but expelled at seventeen. A tour of duty in the Navy inspired his sea stories. Some of many..."John Paul Jones" "No Steamboats" "Old Ironsides" "Homeward Bound" and "Life Before the Mast." His father, Judge Cooper, was attacked and killed after a political meeting in Albany. James became the executor of the estate receiving the bulk of the assets. After his marriage to Susan Augusta De Lancey, a descendent from a New York political family, they became nomadic. The couple lived and moved freely among the various settlements in the State of New York. James was a vivacious reader and upon completing a novel, he complained of its poor quality making the statement, "I could write a better book." His wife challenged him and James found his calling and indeed wrote better books. Cooper moved to Europe while changing his writing agenda, compiling many unsuccessful books about democracy, politics and society. He served as the US consul at Lyons, France. With his income dwindling, he returned America. Cooper had lost his prospective in writing, forgetting what made him famous and popular, instead turning out political and social view publications. James felt ill-treated by journalists and fought back with libel suits, winning most of his cases but his biting opinions cost him the loss of his friends and popular public standing. His brilliant writing career was essentially over. Cooper repurchased the previously sold Otsego Hall, his parents home, where he had grown up in Cooperstown and spent the rest of his life remodeling the structure and bickering with towns people over land and various issues. He died from sclerosis of the liver. The body lay in state at Otsego Hall and the funeral service was held in Christ Church with burial in the Cooper family plot in the church cemetery. His wife followed him in death four months later. His grave, covered by a slab of marble marked by a cross has become a shrine and a source of pilgrimages for his literary admirers. Legacy...The birthplace of America's first true novelist located at 457 High Street in Burlington, New Jersey is preserved and open to the public. It is unique, not that is in a row house setting but because the unit next door was the longtime home of Captain James Lawrence, the naval war hero of the War of 1812. Visitors will see many Cooper displayed items. His daughter, Susan Fenimore Cooper followed in her father's footsteps and became an author of some re-noun spending most of her life trying to redeem his tarnished image. The Fenimore Art Museum is located outside Cooperstown and houses the Cooper Room which is loaded with memorabilia of the Cooper family. The Postal Service issued a two cent commemorative stamp in the Famous America Authors series on January 29, 1940. The Cooper grounds is now kept as a public park and was the location of Otsego Hall, which sadly, burned to the ground a few years after the death of the author. The little town of Cooperstown founded by Judge Cooper and where James Fenimore Cooper wrote twenty of his books became even more famous while Abner Doubleday was attending school here and given credit for inventing baseball in a Cooperstown cow pasture.
Person ID	I18991	McKenzie Genealogy
Last Modified	31 Aug 2011

Father	William Cooper, b. 2 Dec 1754, Byberry, Bucks, Pennsylvania d. 22 Dec 1809, Albany, Albany, New York (Age 55 years)
Relationship	natural
Mother	Elizabeth Fenimore, b. 11 Jun 1752 d. 15 Sep 1817, Otsego, New York (Age 65 years)
Relationship	natural
Marriage	22 Nov 1774	Burlington, New Jersey [1, 6]
Family ID	F08841	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Susanannah Augusta De Lancy, b. 28 Jan 1792, Mamaroneck, Westchester, New York d. 20 Jan 1852, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York (Age 59 years)

Marriage 1 Jan 1811 Rye, Westchester, New York [1, 3]

Children

	1. Infant Son Cooper, b. 23 Sep d. 4 Oct [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	2. Elizabeth Cooper, b. 27 Sep 1811, Mamaroneck, Westchester, New York d. 13 Jul 1813, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York (Age 1 year) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	3. Susan Augusta Fenimore Cooper, b. 17 Apr 1813, Mamaroneck, Westchester, New York d. 31 Dec 1894, New York, New York, New York (Age 81 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	4. Caroline Martha Cooper, b. 26 Jan 1815, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York d. 10 Jan 1892, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York (Age 76 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	5. Amy Clayton Cooper, b. 14 May 1817, England d. 17 Mar 1885, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York (Age 67 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	6. Anne Charlotte Fenimore Cooper, b. 14 May 1817, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York d. 17 Mar 1885, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York (Age 67 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	7. Maria Frances Fenimore Cooper, b. 15 Jun 1819, Scarsdale, Westchester, New York d. 26 Oct 1898, Cooperstown, Otsego, New York (Age 79 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	8. Fenimore Cooper, b. 23 Oct 1821, Scarsdale, Westchester, New York d. 5 Aug 1823, New York, New York (Age 1 year) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	9. Paul Fenimore Cooper, b. 3 Feb 1824, New York, New York d. 21 Apr 1895, Albany, Albany, New York (Age 71 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]

Family ID F08843 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 31 Aug 2011

Sources

[S010963] Simons/Cowell Family Tree, www.ancestry.com.
QUAY 3
[S006057] FindAGrave.com.
[S009249] The New York Genealogical and Bibographical Society, New York City Marriages, 1600s-1800s, (New York, New York, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, published quarterly).
[S006229] Genealogical and Family History of Central New York, Vol. III, (Go to Section: Central New York Family Histories.).
[S002394] 1850 United States Federal Census.
[S004882] Cooper Genealogy.