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Online Finding Aids Guide to the Papers of James Fenimore Cooper, 1792-1884 Table of Contents Descriptive Summary Administrative Information Source of Collection Biographical Information Contents Contents List Cooper's Writings, n.d.; 1820-1849 Correspondence, n.d.; 1801-1834; 1848-1851 Correspondence, 1835-1929 and Miscellaneous Items, n.d.; 1822-1851 Business Papers, n.d.; 1803-1851 Business Papers, n.d.; 1804-1852 Business Papers, etc., n.d.; 1834-1897 Account Books, etc., n.d.; 1826-1851 Miscellaneous Item Miscellaneous Business Papers, n.d.; 1811-1846 The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper   AAS holds major printed and manuscript resources related to James Fenimore Cooper and is a founding and sponsoring institution of The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper.   Descriptive Summary Title: Papers of James Fenimore Cooper, 1792-1884 Creator: James Fenimore Cooper Extent: 7 manuscript boxes; 1 oversize manuscript box Repository: American Antiquarian Society. Administrative Information Source of Collection The majority of the collection was the gift of the Paul Fenimore Cooper, Jr., estate,1990. One letter, dated 25? February 1832 to Armand Carrel, was purchased from George S. MacManus Co., 1983. Two letters, dated 22 May 1826 and 7 July 1827, were purchased from Ximenes Books, 1986. One letter, bound into The Deerslayer, was purchased from Argonaut Books, 1987. Sources of Information on Collection The Letters and Journals of James Fenimore Cooper, ed. by James Franklin Beard. 6 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960-1968). Robert E. Spiller and Philip C. Blackburn. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Writings of James Fenimore Cooper.(New York: Bowker, 1934). Biographical Information James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), the son of William Cooper (1754-1809) and Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper (1752-1817), was born in Burlington, N.J., but spent his youth at Otsego Hall in Cooperstown, N.Y., the home of his father. After an early education at the public school in Cooperstown and at the home of an Episcopal rector in Albany, N.Y., he attended Yale University for three years. In 1806 he went to sea, receiving a commission as a navy midshipman in 1808. His marriage to Susan Augusta De Lancy (1792-1852) of Westchester Co., N.Y., took place in 1811, when he also resigned from the navy. In the years immediately following their marriage, the Coopers lived in Mamaroneck, Cooperstown, Scarsdale (where he began writing), and New York, N.Y. Cooper's first novel, Precaution (1820), was not a success, but this was followed by The Spy (1821), The Pioneers (1823), and The Pilot (1823), all of which were very successful. Cooper met the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) in 1824, and the two became friends. In 1826 Cooper and his family moved to Europe, living mostly in Paris. They returned to New York City in 1834, and lived there for two years before settling at Otsego Hall in 1836. Cooper was a prolific writer, and in the course of his life he became involved in a number of controversies, both literary and personal. He was attacked by the newspapers, and initiated and won several lawsuits for libel. Many of the papers in the present collection deal with these court cases (see Ethel R. Outland, The "Effingham" Libels on Cooper: a Documentary History of the Libel Suits of James Fenimore Cooper Centering Around the Three Mile Point Controversy and the Novel Home as Found, 1837-1845 [Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1929. University of Wisconsin Studies in Language and Literature, No. 28]). Cooper's later works included the "Littlepage" trilogy- Satanstoe (1845), The Chainbearer (1845), and The Redskin (1846). These novels reflected his sympathies with landowners against tenants in the anti-rent controversy that took place in New York in the 1840s. Contents The present collection consists of many of Cooper's own papers, along with some papers of other family members that were in the possession of Cooper's great-grandson, Paul Fenimore Cooper, Jr. It contains a number of manuscripts of Cooper's works, including four of his novels ( Red Rover, The Bravo, Satanstoe, and The Chainbearer), along with fragments of other works. The papers also include extensive correspondence, notably with Cooper's American publisher, Carey and Lea, and with members of the Cooper and De Lancy families. There are many letters written by Cooper to Commodore William Branford Shubrick (1790-1874). Also in this collection are business papers and ledgers, copies of contracts, deeds, and indentures. Contents List Cooper's Writings, n.d.; 1820-1849 Box Folder Contents 1 1 Copyright Certificate for Precaution; 1820 (photocopy). Articles of agreement between JFC and Carey and Lea for The Prairie; 1826 1 1A Review of The Pilot (in JFC hand); 5 pp.; c. 1823 1 2 The Prairie; author's ms. of "Preface"; author's corrected copy of proof sheets of pp. 265-277; 1827 1 3 Red Rover; author's ms.; c. 58 leaves; plus 109 pages in Wm. Cooper's hand (lacks c. 7 leaves); 1827 1 4 Draft intended for publication in Edinburgh Review (Cooper expresses anger with their treatment of his book Notions of Americans); fragment (the rest at Yale); 1828/9? 1 5 The Bravo; author's ms.; 60 leaves (both sides); c. 1829 1 6 Travel journal, Paris, 9/19-23/1830; 3 leaves 1 7 The Water-Witch; ms. fragment; 2 leaves pasted together (both sides); c. 1830 1 8 Letter to Armand Carrell [2/25?/1832] to be published in Le National; author's ms. 1 8A The Headsman; author's ms.; 2 leaves (both sides); c. 1833 1 9 Monikins; ms. fragment; 5 leaves (both sides); c. 1835 1 10 Gleanings in Europe; ms. fragment; 1 leaf (1 side); (published Philadelphia: Carey, Lea and Blanchard, 1837; the fragment is from vol. 2, p. 119-123) Unidentified author's ms.; 1 leaf 1 11 "On the Distinctions between the English and American Politics"; author's ms.; article intended for Democratic Review, 10 pp.; c. 1837-1840 1 12 Author's ms. about the "Effingham" libel suit; 2 leaves (both sides); c. 1837-1845 1 12A Articles of agreement between JFC and Lea and Blanchard for The Naval History of the United States; 1838 1 13 "Abuse of Liberty of the Press"; author's ms. "Preface" to second edition of Naval History Information on the U.S.S. Surprize Miscellaneous mss. in JFC's and other hands; c. 1839? 1 14 Satanstoe; author's ms.; 129 leaves (1 side); c. 1843-1845 1 15-20 The Chainbearer; author's ms.; Chapters I-XXX, 6 folders; c. 1845 Two copies of proof sheet of title page (N.Y.: Burgess, Stringer & Co., 1845) 1 21 "Lies"; author's ms.; about Tiffany case. 1 leaf (1 side); n.d. 1 22 Jack Tier; author's ms.; pp. 1-6, 17-30; c. 1848 1 23 Oak Openings; author's ms.; fragment, 3 leaves (1 side); numbered 71, 75, and 76 (respectively); c. 1848 1 23A The Sea Lions; author's ms.; fragment, 1 leaf (1 side); 1849 1 24 Author's ms. about French law and customs; 4 leaves; n.d. 1 25 Unidentified fragment of author's ms.; "Chapter VI"; 1/2 leaf (1 side); n.d. "To the American People"; author's ms.; 3 leaves (1 side); n.f. Unidentified fragment of author's ms.; pp. 37, 40; n.d. Author's mss. of two poems; 2 leaves (1 side); n.d. 1 26 Author's ms. about Hamilton, Arnold, etc.; 2 leaves (2 pp.); n.d. 1 27 Author's ms.; unidentified dialogue or play; 2 leaves (2 pp.); n.d. 1 28 Author's unidentified ms. notes; 1 leaf (1 side); n.d. 1 29 Author's mss. about naval history and biography of Barney; 25 various pp.; n.d. 1 30 Miscellaneous author's mss.: letters to editors, unidentified letters about Naval History; unidentifed fragments 1 30A Ms. leaf; naval episode; n.d. 1 30B Family record and Otsego Hall record; 1833 and 1840 1 31 Copy of Yale Literary Magazine, 5.5 (March 1840) containing article on JFC with his own marginal notes Correspondence, n.d.; 1801-1834; 1848-1851 Box Folder Contents 2 1 Copies of correspondence, 1848-1851 2 2 Undated or illegible 2 3 1801; 1808; 1810-1811; 1813-1815 2 4 1816-1817 2 5 1818 2 6 1819 2 7 1820-1821 2 8 1822 2 9 1823-1824 2 10 1825 2 11 1826, January - March 2 12 1826, April - December 2 13 1827, January - July 2 2 14 1827, July 7 2 15 1827, July 23 - November 2 16 1828 2 17 1829-1830 2 18 1831 2 19 1832, January - July 2 20 1832, August - December 2 21 1833 2 22 1834 Correspondence, 1835-1929 and Miscellaneous Items, n.d.; 1822-1851 Box Folder Contents 3 1 1835 3 2 1836 3 3 1837 3 4 1838 3 5 1839, January - June 3 6 1839, July - December 3 7 1840 3 8 1841, January - June 3 9 1841, July - 1842 3 10 1843, January - February 3 11 1843, March - May 3 12 1843, June - August 3 13 1843, September - October 3 14 1843, November - December 3 15 1844 3 16 1845, January - July 3 17 1845, August - December 3 18 1846-1847 3 19 1848 3 20 1849 3 21 1850, January - May 3 22 1850, June - December 3 23 1851; 1854; 1860; 1868; 1872; 1874-1875; 1884; 1929 3 24 Alphabetical list of names; unspecified purpose; n.d. 3 25 Miscellaneous items: 11 empty envelopes Calling cards for Robert McCall Extracs from minutes of New-York Historical Society, 10/7/1851 2 locks of JFC's hair Decorative title page of The Spy, Phila.: Harrison Hall, 1822 Autographed (?) engraving of JFC--"The Author of 'The Spy'" London: Published in The New Monthly Magazine by Colburn & Bentley, 1 April 1831 Autographed engraving of JFC--Engraved by J. C. Buttre. From a daguereotype by Brady, 1 September 1850, in the possession of Mrs. H. F. Phinney Portion of ms. periodical, The Hartwick Spy, vol. 1, no. 5, printed by Henry Sly 4th at Goblins Village; 1831 (?) Unsigned, undated note concerning JFC and Washington Irving 3 26 Impression of JFC seal; also negative of this seal 3 27 Copy of Southern Literary Messenger, v. 4, no. 6 (June 1838) with JFC's signature 3 28 Copy of "The Lumley Autograph" by Susan Augusta Cooper begun in the January 1851 issue of Graham's Magazine and concluded in the February 1851 issue Business Papers, n.d.; 1803-1851 Box Folder Contents 4 1 Listing of miscellaneous JFC Business Papers (bound in packets) prepared by Paul F. Cooper; packets disassembled 4 1A Orders (Navy); 1808 4 1B Receipts (Navy); 1810 4 1C 3 promissory notes; 1808 4 2 Checks drawn on account at Bank of NY; 1817-1818 Bank book, Bank of NY; 1817-1819 4 3 Checks drawn on account at Bank of NY; 1819 4 4 Checks drawn on account at Bank of NY; 1834-1835 Promissory note to Otsego County Bank; 1849 Promissory note to Bank of NY; 1851 4 5 Checks drawn on account at Otsego County Bank; 1833-1834; 1837; 1848; 1849; 1850; 1851 4 6 Receipted bills; 1803; 1808-1814 4 7 Receipted bills; 1815-1818 4 8 Receipted bills; 1819-1849 4 9 Foreign bills; n.d. 4 10 Foreign bills; 1826-1829 4 11 Foreign bills; 1830-1833 4 12 Agreement, JFC and Richard Heaviside, printer, at accompany JFC to Florence to work on book; n.d. 4 13 Draft indenture, JFC to John Whitford, re: Wm. Cooper agreement; n.d. 4 14 Leases--list of amounts due; n.d. 4 15 Deposition of Sidney Ketchum re: promissory note (Gibbs, Gordon & Sandford case; n.d. (c. 1839?) 4 16 Memos re: Gibbs, Gordon & Sandford case (2 items, dated 1839 [?], 1839-1845) 4 17 2 leaves removed from account book: JFC in account with estate of Wm. Cooper, deceased (cut from acc't book in Paris, 4/23/1827 by Wm. Cooper); sheets dat ed 1810-1811; 1817 4 18 4 leaves removed from account book: account of William Van Booskirk (cut from acc't book in Paris, 4/23/1827 by Wm. Cooper); sheets dated 1813-1817 4 19 Account of money paid Courtland C. Cooper by various people and paid by him; 8/31/1816 4 20 4 leaves removed from account book: monied paid and received (cut from acc't book in Paris by Wm. Cooper, 4/23/1827); sheets dated 1816 Business Papers, n.d.; 1804-1852 Box Folder Contents 5 1 Appleton foot case; 1814-1817 5 1A Articles of Agreement between JFC and Alpha Perry and Daniel D. Boles re: transfer of land to Perry and Bowles 5 2 Leaf removed from account book; account of Mount Ovis (on verso spelled Otis) (cut from acc't book in Paris by Wm. Cooper, 4/23/1827); 1813-1817 5 3 4 leaves removed from account book; account of Courtland C. Cooper (leaves removed by Wm. Cooper, 4/23/1827, Paris); 1814-1815; 1817 5 4 Articles of Agreement between JFC and Robert Ward for building a house in Scarsdale; 1817 5 5 Land sold to Gordon Mumford; 1819 Agreement re: promissory note of JFC held by Mumford JFC purchase of ship, "Union of NY" from Mumford 5 6 Articles of Agreement, JFC and Edward Miles (?) re: work to be done; 1819 5 7 Tabulation of 1820 census, listed by state and companion to earlier figures for NY, NJ, PA, and miscellaneous other information; [1820] 5 8 Bond, JFC to Robert McDermot for ship; 182_; 1821 5 9 Bill of sale for crops, stock, etc., to JFC to secure rent; Ebenezer Holmes; 1822 5 10 Assignment of mortgage bond, estate of Wm. Cooper; 1804-1826 Schedule of property of Wm. Cooper, prepared during contesting of Wm. Cooper's will; other related papers; 1822 Summary of Wm. Cooper's will; 1836 5 11 Memo of agreement between JFC and Charles Wiley and Oliver Halsted, Booksellers, re: 2nd ed. of The Spy; 1822 Account of The Pioneers with J. Murray; 1823 Account of sales of books by Halsted; 1825 5 12 "George Willits and William H. Cornell have given a joint Bond of Indemnification to James Cooper ..."; signed Brookes; 1823 5 13 Note about interest owing JFC, signed by Brookes; 1823 5 14 "An Act Authorizing James Cooper to assume a middle name"; 1826 5 15 Account and statement for books (including expenses for several of JFC's books (The Last of the Mohicans, The Pilot, Lionel Lincoln); 1826 5 16 Account of JFC with Robert Campbell (attorney); 1817-1819 5 17 Appraisal of stock; 1818 5 18 Account of purchase of clothing items and fabric; 1818 Account of tailoring and repair work on clothing; 1818-1821 5 19 Account of purchases (food staples and household items; owed to Monmouth Lyon); 1818-1819 5 20 Promissory notes, signed by JFC; 1825; 1836; 1844; 1845;1846 5 21 Miscellaneous agreements, contracts, indentures, copyright certificates, legal proceedings, insurance policies, subpoenas, receipts, etc.; n.d.; 1804-1824 5 22 Same as folder 21; 1825-1852 Business Papers, etc., n.d.; 1834-1897 Box Folder Contents 6 1 Listing of Wm. Cooper's property in "Feronia," in JFC's hand; 1834 6 1A Articles of Agreement between JFC, as surviving executor of Wm. Cooper estate, and William Averell; 1834 6 2 Declaration of Trust, signed by JFC for Horace Comstock; 1835 6 3 JFC Last Will and Testament (see also late will, 1849); 1835 6 4 Release from agreement re: $2,000 investment in Illinois with J. Ogden; 1835 6 5 Account book of JFC with NY provisioner, J. _____ (?); 1835-1837 6 6 Cooperstown; deeds of Otsego Hall and grounds, etc.; 1835-1844 6 6A Trader's Fire Insurance Co. policy; 1836 6 7 Promissory note, JFC to Paul F. Cooper; 1838 6 8 Plan of subscription for Hall for Athenian Institute; 1838 6 9 Promissory note, Sidney Ketchum; papers re: attempt to collect; 1839 6 10 Court order to E. D. Richardson to appear in court for case between JFC and Thurlow Weed; 1841 6 11 Horace M. Comstock, correspondence re: deed, property, and sums owing JFC (deed in oversize folder, 3/16/1841, for property in Kalamazoo, MI); 1841; 1842< /td> 6 12 JFC action against Sidney Ketchum re: promissory note; 1845 6 13 Supreme Court, notice of retainer by defendant's attorney, JFC vs. J. S. Sandford; 1845 6 14 Promissory note to City Bank of NY; 1845 6 14A Agreement, use of "stereotype" plates of The History of the Navy of the United States of America, from 1845 to 1856; 1845 6 15 Order for time to plead, Supreme Court, James Sandford; 1846 6 16 William Stone vs. JFC; 1846 "Defts. points" (i.e., the points made by the defendant, JFC; n.d 6 17 Court for Correction of Errors, Wm. L. Stone vs. JFC; copy costs; 1846 6 18 Account of traveling expenses incurred for trip by Comstock to Michigan on JFC's behalf (?); 1847 6 19 Papers re: attempts to collect on 1837 note of Horace Comstock (also involving Isaac Schuyler, Sidney Ketchum, case against Gibbs & Gordon) 6 20 Attempt to collect from Sidney Ketchum; 1847 6 21 Agreement to rent store in Cooperstown by JFC, to Wm. A. Comstock & Co.; 1847 6 22 Copy, Supreme Court, JFC vs. James S. Sandford, et al. (Gordon & Gibbs) and other documents re: this case relating to 1839 promissory note (Detroit, M I, George Hand att'y for JFC); 1848 6 23 Isaac Schuyler, Power of Attorney to JFC; 1848 6 24 JFC Last Will and Testament;1849 (see also earlier will, 1835) 6 25 Sidney Ketchum, affidavit re: attendance at court in Detroit (re: Gibbs, etc. case); 1849 Nathaniel Eldridge (the same); 1849 6 26 Deposition Papers,; JFC vs. Gibbs & Gordon; 1836-1839 6 27 Deposition Papers; JFC vs. Gibbs & Gordon; 1847 (re: 1839) 6 28 Deposition Papers; JFC vs. Gibbs & Gordon; 1849 6 29 Partial copy of Last Will and Testament, dated 11/8/1849; 1851 6 30 Receipt for taxes paid on land in Kalamazoo; 1850 6 31 Deposition papers; JFC vs. Gibbs, Gordon, etc.; 1850 6 32 Receipt for $500 subscription to Fort-Plan & Cooperstown Road Co. by JFC; 1850 6 33 Bishop DeLancey's notes on order of funeral procession of JFC; 1851 6 34 Kalamazoo County, MI, A council of probate re: JFC will; 1852 6 35 JFC calling card; paper currency(xerox copy to Graphic Arts); n.d. 6 36 Various envelopes; one memoranda sheet, etc.; n.d. 6 36A Portraits of JFC, Twinkles newspaper, 5/10/1897 6 37 Newspaper clipping commemorating 100th anniversary of JFC's birth; n.d. 6 37A Dealers descriptive list of JFC letters for sale; n.d. 6 38 History of ownership of J. F. Cooper House in Burlington, NJ, plus copy Account Books, etc., n.d.; 1826-1851 Box Folder Contents 7 Vol. 1: Household expenses; 1834-1845 7 Vol. 2: Paris; [1838]-1842 (pages for 1838 removed) 7 Vol. 3: Real estate; 1844-1851 7 Vol. 4: Italy, France, Germany; 1828-1830 7 Vol. 5: Real estate; 1829-1835 7 Vol. 6: JFC: "An Account Book containing Items of Monies I received when from Home--began Augst 1826"; 1826-1845 7 1 Vol. 7: France; 1846-1849 Vol. 8: France; 1850 7 2 Hardware, and days worked account; 1837 Unidentified account book, clothing, food, sundries; n.d. 7 3 Xeroxes of various JFC mss., from the C. Waller Barrett Collection at University of Virginia (delivered by Kay House, 7/20/90) Miscellaneous Item Box Contents 8 Part of the bed on which JFC died; 9 September 1851 Miscellaneous Business Papers, n.d.; 1811-1846 Oversize Box Folder Contents 1 1 Resolution on meeting held in Westchester Co., N.Y., against War of 1812; n.d. 1 2 Apprenticeship agreement between Samuel Conklin and JFC for services of Conklin's daughter Catherine; 1811 1 3 Deed for property in Dekalb, (lot no. 401, 100 acres) from Denis and Lidia [sic] Thayer; 1815 1 4 Deed for property in DeKalb, (lot no. 1) from Barton Carver to JFC; 1816 1 5 Deed for property in Edmeston [sic] (Otsego Co.; Wharton Patent, lot no. 4 in Great Lot No. 6) from Asa and Lydia Luce to JFC; 1817 1 6 Quit claim on land in Wharton Patent belonging to the estate of Wm. Cooper and deeded to JFC by Isaac Cooper, exec for Wm. Cooper, Samuel Cooper, and Georg e and Ann Pomeroy; 1817 1 7 Deed for land purchased by JFC at public auction ...; 1817 1 8 Deed for property in Cooperstown from John and Catherine Prentiss to JFC; 1818 1 9 Transfer of rights of Robert Sedgwick by JFC for lands; 1818 1 10 Draft of agreement (?) re: JFC assessment of mortgages; 1819 (?) 1 11 Account of JFC with Josiah Bradlee & Co.; 1820 1 12 Account of JFC with Welles & Co., Paris; 1828-1829 1 13 Deed for land in Spring Wells, MI, from Charles Trowbridge to Sidney Ketchum; 1836 1 14 Deed for property in Middlefield (Otsego Co.) from Ebenezer Ingals to Calvin Graves and Lyman Ball; 1838 1 15 Deed of property in Farmington, MI, from Elijan and Lucy Ann Cook to Isaac Schuyler; 1839 1 16 Deed for property in Middlefield (Otsego Co.) from Asa Luce to JFC; 1839 1 17 Deed for property in Middlefield (Otsego Co.) from Isaac Fitch and Malinda [sic] Fitch to JFC; 1840 1 18 Deed for property in Kalamazoo, MI, from Horace H. and Sarah Comstock to JFC; 1841 1 19 Deed for property in Michigan previously conveyed by Sidney Ketchum, now conveyed by Isaac Schuyler to Wm. J. Roome; 1841 1 20 Letter, JFC to Mr. Edward Myers (?); mounted on board with original watercolor painting by R. W. Van Buskirk; letter dated 4/3/1843; painting dated "NY 18 79" 1 20A Letter, including DeLancey family record, to JFC from Robert Bolton, Jr.; dated 3/29/1845 1 21 Deed for land in Middlefield (Otsego Co.) from Calvin and Fanny Graves to JFC, 1846 1 22 Map of village of Kalamazoo showing lots owned by JFC; n.d. 1 23 Deed for property (a farm) in Scarsdale from James and Susan Augusta Cooper to William Shotwell; 1819 1 24 Deed for farm in Scarsdale from JFC and wife Susan Augusta Cooper to William Shotwell; 1820

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