Jay, Peter A. (Peter Augustus), 1776-1843

Overview: The collection provides evidence of the personal and professional life of James Fenimore Cooper, and to a lesser degree, the Cooper family, between 1792 and 1976. The collection documents Cooper's writing career, service in the United States Navy, and travels through Europe, and consists of correspondence, writings, personal papers, legal and financial documents, clippings, artwork, and objects. As an author who was engaged in the process of printing and publishing his works, and who was deeply...

Overview: The principal figures in this collection are Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826) and his sons Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) and Richard Cary Morse (1795-1868). More than half of the collection is made up of correspondence (1779-1868) among members of the family. Also included are legal and financial papers, sermons by Jedidiah and Richard Cary Morse, travel journals, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, printed matter, and photographs.