James Lord Pierpont first of their children, Lillie. Pierpont's children by his first marriage remained in Massachusetts with their grandfather. In August 1857, his song "The One Horse Open Sleigh" was published by Oliver Ditson and Company of 277 Washington Street in Boston dedicated to John P. Ordway. The song was copyrighted on September 16, 1857. The song was originally performed in a Sunday school concert on Thanksgiving in Savannah, Georgia, although it has been claimed that Pierpont wrote it in Medford, Massachusetts in 1850. In 1859, it was re-released with the title "Jingle Bells, or The One Horse Open Sleigh". The song
James Pierpont (minister) James Pierpont (minister) James Pierpont (January 4, 1659 – November 22, 1714) was a Congregationalist minister who is credited with the founding of Yale University in the United States. In 1701, Pierpont secured the charter for The Collegiate School of Connecticut, which soon thereafter took the surname of its benefactor Elihu Yale. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on January 4, 1659. He attended The Roxbury Latin School and Harvard University. James Pierpont married in 1698 as his third wife Mary Hooker, daughter of Rev. Samuel Hooker and granddaughter of Rev. Thomas Hooker, chief founder of the Colony of Connecticut.