who wrote i wish i was in dixie
Although most sources credit Ohio - born Daniel Decatur Emmett with the song 's composition , other people have claimed to have composed `` Dixie , '' even during Emmett 's lifetime . Compounding the problem of definitively establishing the song 's authorship are Emmett 's own confused accounts of its writing , and his tardiness in registering the song 's copyright . The latest challenge has come on behalf of the Snowden Family of Knox County , Ohio , who may have collaborated with Emmett to write `` Dixie