This is part of the “Leatherstocking” series of books written by Cooper, and although it was published first, in 1823, it would actually be fourth of five, if you look at the series in chronological order. The other titles in the series include The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, and The Prairie. All of them have as their protagonist Nathaniel “Natty” Bumppo. The Pioneers was reissued in 1832, and while the language is rather flowery by today’s standards, it is not too difficult to follow the plot.
While this book cannot be called autobiographical, the setting is very similar to Cooperstown, where Cooper grew up. Cooper was born in 1789, and this story is set in 1793, so much of the book would be things that he remembered, or was told about as a youth. Templeton probably resembles Cooperstown, in its early years, but Cooper’s father was apparently not the model for Judge Marmaduke Temple, even though they have a few things in common. Some of the characters in this book, and I do mean “characters”, may be drawn from people he knew; others may be composites or architypes. I found it interesting that several individuals have distinct, and sometimes challenging to understand, accents or dialects.
I am sure any number of school essays have been written about the themes of the novel, so I won’t dwell on them here. I will say that if you had ancestors who lived in upstate New York in the 1790’s to early 1800’s, this could give you a pretty good idea of what life might have been like for them. Cooper describes clothing, food, modes of transportation, aspects of the law and architecture, religious worship in a pioneer town, and even describes a “hunt” of Passenger Pigeons. His characters seem to be a cross-section of society, from the Judge, at the top, to Natty Bumppo and Indian John at what would have been considered the bottom. The novel takes place over the course of about a year, so he gets to describe every season.
Also of interest for the genealogist are the familial relationships of a few of the characters. Marmaduke Temple and Richard Jones were cousins, or “sister’s sons” as Richard likes to say. And so, of course, they are almost complete opposites. The parentage of Oliver Edwards is a mystery until the end of the story, although it is discussed frequently. Also, since this is a new town, everyone has come from somewhere else, so there are a variety of places of origin. These include England, France, Germany, and Ireland, and nearer to home, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and the Bay State.
If this was your family, how would you research them? Much of the land in New York State was distributed via a patent, which was a grant of land given either by the crown or later, the state governor. David Ramsey has an amazing map, showing how much land was involved, at https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~26278~1110041:Map-of-the-state-of-New-York-showin. Records for these patents can be found at Family Search or the New York State Archives. If your ancestor was granted a patent, or was living in a specific patent, researching that patent might prove fruitful. Natty Bumppo served in the Revolutionary War. Records for soldiers could be found at Fold3, or through the DAR.