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
James Lord Pierpont Elsie", a ballad, written and arranged expressly for Campbell's Minstrels, who were rivals to Christy's Minstrels. In 1855, he composed "The Starlight Serenade", published by Miller and Beacham in Baltimore. Pierpont also composed "I Mourn For My Old Cottage Home". In 1857, Pierpont had another successful hit song composition with a song written in collaboration with lyricist Marshall S. Pike, "The Little White Cottage" or "Gentle Nettie Moore", published by Oliver Ditson and Company, and copyrighted on September 16, 1857. The songwriting credit appeared as: "Poetry by Marshall S. Pike, Esq.", the "Melody by G. S. P.", and "Chorus and