James Pierpont (minister) Their daughter, Sarah Pierpont, married noted colonial minister Jonathan Edwards. He died on November 22, 1714 in New Haven, Connecticut. James Pierpont's descendants also include U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr and financier John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan, and songwriter James Lord Pierpont, best known for "Jingle Bells". 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
Francis Harrison Pierpont Grant, planned the removal of Pierpont and installation of Welles. Pierpont became one of the key figures in the Virginia constitutional convention of 1867–1868, which resulted in the Underwood Constitution of 1869. After this, Pierpont left Virginia politics and returned to his law practice in West Virginia. Pierpont subsequently was elected to one term in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1870, but lost his seat when the Democrats took control of the state. His last public office was as collector of Internal Revenue under President James Garfield. After his retirement, he helped create the West Virginia Historical Society,