James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, on September 15, 1789. In 1790, his father, William Cooper, moved the family to Cooperstown, New York, where James spent his youth and received his early education. Cooper's father was the most prominent citizen of the town; the site was founded by him and the name of Cooperstown was adopted in his honor. Although he shared the life of a wealthy landowner and was introduced into the most influential social circles, James was critical of the training he received. For example, he criticized the teachers and schools (private and expensive) that he remembered from his youth.
His bold and independent nature caused him trouble in college. He entered Yale College at the age of thirteen hut was expelled in 1805, supposedly for exploding gunpowder and arranging for a donkey to occupy a professor's chair in the classroom. The young Cooper, perhaps under parental duress, went to sea. He spent the years from 1806 until 1808 as a common seaman on the Stirling and saw a great deal of the Mediterranean Sea. In 1808, he was commissioned a midshipman in the United States Navy, but by 1811, Cooper had decided that life at sea was not meant for him.
Two events occurred which fortunately directed Cooper toward a career on land. In 1809, his father was killed by a political opponent and left a considerable estate. Taking a furlough from naval service, James resigned a year later, and some critics see in this hasty resignation proof that his period at sea may have been the parents' decision to discipline the son. However, a more important factor in young Cooper's abandonment of a naval career probably was his marriage in 1811 to Susan De Lancey, the daughter of a very rich and influential family from Westchester County. He was accepted into the highest social circles of New York City and began to lead the comfortable existence of a country squire, commuting often between Westchester and Cooperstown. A large family increased his expenses; his brothers spent most of their share of the estate and then borrowed considerable sums from him, and his own business ventures did not turn out successfully.
