James Pierpont ( musician ) James Lord Pierpont ( April 25 , 1822 - August 5 , 1893 ) was an American songwriter , arranger , organist , and composer , best known for writing and composing " Jingle Bells " in 1857 , originally entitled " The One Horse Open Sleigh " . He was born in Boston , Massachusetts , and died in Winter Haven , Florida . His composition " Jingle Bells " has become synonymous with the Christmas holiday and is one of the most performed and most recognizable songs in the world . Life and career . James Lord Pierpont was born on April 25 , 1822 in Boston , Massachusetts . His father , Reverend John Pierpont ( 1785 – 1866 ) , was a pastor of the Hollis Street Unitarian Church in Boston . James was the uncle of the financier and banker John Pierpont Morgan . His father Rev . John Pierpont was also an abolitionist and a poet . Robert Fulghum mixed him up with James Pierpont in his book " It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It " ( 1989 ) and erroneously attributed the authorship of " Jingle Bells " to Rev . John Pierpont . His mother was Mary Sheldon Lord , the daughter of Lynde Lord , Jr . ( 1762 – 1813 ) , and Mary Lyman . John and Mary Pierpont had six children . In 1832 , James was sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire . He wrote a letter to his mother about riding in a sleigh through the December snow . In 1836 , James ran away to sea aboard a whaling ship called " The Shark " . He then served in the US Navy until the age of 21 . By 1845 , he returned to New England where his father was the pastor of a Unitarian congregation in Troy , New York . James married Millicent Cowee , the daughter of Farwell Cowee and Abigail Merriam , in the late 1840s , and they settled in Medford , where they had three children . His father , Rev . John Pierpont , assumed a position as minister of a Unitarian congregation in Medford , Massachusetts in 1849 . In 1849 , James Pierpont left his wife and children with his father in Massachusetts to open a business in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush . He also worked as a photographer . His business failed after his goods burned in a fire . In 1853 , Millicent died , and after James ’ brother , the Rev . John Pierpont , Jr . ( 1819 – 1879 ) , accepted a post with the Savannah , Georgia , Unitarian congregation , James followed , taking a post as the organist and music director of the church . To support himself , he also gave organ and singing lessons . The organ is presently in the possession of Florida State University . On March 27 , 1852 , James Pierpont published his composition " The Returned Californian " , based on his experiences in San Francisco , published in Boston by E . H . Wade of 197 Washington Street . " The Returned Californian " was originally sung by S . C . Howard , of Ordway ' s Aeloians , and was written expressly for Ordway ' s Aeolians " by James Pierpont Esq . " and was arranged by John Pond Ordway ( 1824 – 1880 ) . The song describes Pierpont ' s experiences during the California Gold Rush and the failure of his San Francisco business : " Oh ! I ' m going far away from my Creditors just now , I ain ' t the tin to pay ' em and they ' re kicking up a row . " The U . S . Library of Congress possesses a copy of the original sheet music for the song . The lyrics to " The Returned Californian " are as follows : In 1854 , Pierpont composed the songs " Geraldine " and " Ring the Bell , Fanny " for George Kunkle ' s Nightingale Opera Troupe . He also copyrighted the song " To the Loved Ones at Home " in 1854 and " Poor 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 Piano Accompaniment by J . S . [ sic ] Pierpont " . Pierpont ' s name occasionally appeared incorrectly as " J . S . Pierpont " . In 1853 , Pierpont had published new compositions in Boston , among them " Kitty Crow " , dedicated to W . W . McKim , and " The Colored Coquette " , a minstrel song published by Oliver Ditson . " The Coquette " and an arrangement for guitar entitled " The Coquet " were also published that year . Pierpont also published an arrangement entitled " The Universal Medley " . Jamie Keena , a balladeer and authority on 19th century music , who plays the guitar , banjo , fife , hammered dulcimer , and concertina , has recorded several Pierpont compositions from this period . The Pierpont compositions that were performed by Keena included " Ring the Bell , Fanny " ( 1854 ) , " Quitman Town March " , and " Wait , Lady , Wait " , as well as three Confederacy songs written in the 1860s , " Our Battle Flag " , " We Conquer or Die " ( 1861 ) , and " Strike for the South " ( 1863 ) . Pierpont published several ballads , polkas , such as " The Know Nothing Polka " , published by E . H . Wade in 1854 , and minstrel songs . Minstrel songs were popular in the 1850s and continued to be popular into the 20th century in the U . S . The lyrics to all minstrel songs reflect and mirror the endemic racism and racial stereotypes inherent in American society and culture . Minstrel songs and the minstrel genre exploited racial stereotypes and racially stereotypical language . The minstrel genre , however , was only a representation of the wider societal racism in the United States . In August , 1857 , James married Eliza Jane Purse , daughter of Savannah ' s mayor , Thomas Purse . She soon gave birth to the 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 was not a hit either time . The popularity of the song , however , grew with the passage of time to the point where it became one of the most popular and recognizable songs of the Christmas holiday . The original lyrics to " The One Horse Open Sleigh " as written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 are as follows : Later arrangements of the song changed the word " joy " to " fun " in the chorus and slightly simplified and streamlined the chorus melody , which was more musically complex in the original . In this slightly modified form , " Jingle Bells " became one of the most popular and most recognizable songs ever written . In 1859 , the Unitarian Church in Savannah had closed because of its abolitionist position , which was unpopular in the South . By 1860 , Rev . John Pierpont , Jr . had returned to the North . James , however , stayed in Savannah with his second wife Eliza Jane , and at the beginning of the Civil War , joined the Lamar Rangers , which became part of the Fifth Georgia Cavalry of the Confederacy . Records indicate that he served as a company clerk . He also wrote music for the Confederacy when it seceded from the Union , including " Our Battle Flag " , " Strike for the South " and " We Conquer or Die " . His father also saw military service as a chaplain with the Union Army stationed in Washington , D . C . and later worked for the U . S . Treasury Department . Pierpont and his father were on opposite sides during the Civil War . After the war , James moved his family to Valdosta , Georgia , where he taught music . According to Savannah author Margaret DeBolt and researcher Milton J . Rahn , Pierpont ' s son , Maynard Boardman , was born in Valdosta . The 1870 Lowndes County Census listed : " Pierpont , James 48 , Eliza J . 38 , Lillie 16 , Thomas 8 , Josiah 5 , and Maynard B . 4 . " If Lillie is 16 in 1870 , she was born in about 1854 . In 1869 , Pierpont moved to Quitman , Georgia . There he was the organist in the Presbyterian Church , gave private piano lessons and taught at the Quitman Academy , retiring as the head of the Musical Department . In 1880 , Pierpont ' s son , Dr . Juriah Pierpont , M . D . , renewed the copyright on " Jingle Bells " but he never made much money from it . It took considerable effort to keep his father ' s name permanently attached to the song after the copyright expired . More information about Dr . Pierpont can be found at Pensacola Medical Heritage on St . John ' s Historic Cemetery web page . Pierpont spent his final days at his son ' s home in Winter Haven , Florida , where he died on August 5 , 1893 . At his request , he was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah beside his brother - in - law Thomas who had been killed in the first battle of Bull Run . Other compositions . James Pierpont ' s other compositions include : Bob Dylan based his song " Nettie Moore " on the " Modern Times " ( 2006 ) album on " Gentle Nettie Moore " . The structure of the chorus and the first two lines ( " Oh , I miss you Nettie Moore / And my happiness is o ' er " ) of Bob Dylan ' s " Nettie Moore " are the same as those of " The Little White Cottage , or Gentle Nettie Moore " , the ballad published in 1857 in Boston , by Marshall S . Pike ( poetry ) , G . S . P . ( melody ) and James S . Pierpont ( chorus and piano accompaniment ) . The Sons of the Pioneers with Roy Rogers recorded " Gentle Nettie Moore " in August , 1934 for Standard Radio in Los Angeles and released it as a 33 RPM radio disc , EE Master 1720 . The recording was reissued on the CD # 4 of the 5 CD set Songs Of The Prairies - The Standard Transcriptions - Part . 1 - 1934 - 1935 on Bear Family , BCD 15710 EI , 1998 , Germany . The songwriting credit on this collection is listed as : " Gentle Nettie Moore " ( Marshall S . Pike / James Pierpont ) . James Pierpont is buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah , Georgia . He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 . Honors . From 1890 to 1954 , “ Jingle Bells ” was in the top 25 of the most recorded songs in history , beating out " My Old Kentucky Home " , " The Stars and Stripes Forever " , “ Blue Skies ” , “ I Got Rhythm ” and “ Georgia on My Mind ” . In recognition of the universal success of his composition , he was elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 . In 1997 , a James Lord Pierpont Music Scholarship Fund was established at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah , Georgia .