Dougald FERGUSON
 

 

 Photo sources:
The Ferguson family and descendants
Mr. Charles W. Seyle, Mrs. Lila Seyle Hooper and Mrs. Gloria Smith-Ramsaur
 

Dougald FERGUSON

 A native of Savannah, was 23 in 1861 and employed as an undertaker and cabinet maker. Dougald enlisted with the Republican Blues in 1857. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted with the Second Company of the Republican Blues after they had been broken up into two companies. Served initially for 30 days State service enlisting on 25 April 1861 and was elected 3CPL. He reenlisted for 60 days Confederate service on 31 May 1861, remaining as 3CPL. Following this enlistment, Dougald apparently remained in the Savannah area when the Blues' company was sent to St. Catherine's Island in August 1861. When the Second Company was disbanded in the spring of 1862, Dougald enlisted with the company that remained as the Republican Blues, on 8 April 1862 at Fort Jackson. He served with the Blues when they were sent to Fort McAllister in August of 1862, but on 1 December 1862 he transferred to Company A, 2^nd Battalion, Georgia Cavalry. In January of 1863 he transferred to Company I, 5th Regiment Georgia Cavalry (Effingham Hussars). He served with this unit throughout the balance of the war. He was paroled at Hillsboro, NC on 3 May 1865.
After the war, Ferguson returned to Savannah, and went into business with William D. Dixon, former commander of the Republican Blues. These two men were old friends and had been in business together before the war. Although initially involved in cabinet making, by the post-war period, their work focused entirely on undertaking. Their workshop had been located in the basement of the Ferguson Boarding House, operated by his mother, located on the corner of Price and President streets. The house still stands today. By 1877, Ferguson had suffered a stroke that left him partially disabled, and he withdrew from the business partnership with Dixon.

Ferguson married in April of 1864 at the White Bluff Church outside of Savannah. He and his wife had four children, a son and four daughters. The son passed away in 1878 when he was 8 years old. His wife passed away in 1884 leaving him to care for the daughters. Dougald passed away on 7 March 1892 at the age of 54. The Republican Blues, then commanded by Captain William D. Dixon, honored their former member by providing an escort. He was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery with his wife and children. [FAM RECORD RODGER S. DURHAM - MIL REC HEN VOL 1, p.133

 

 

JAMES L. PIERPONT

 

James L. Pierpont

Expatriate,
Composer of "Jingle Bells,"
Southern Soldier
By
Timothy Daiss

James Pierpont led an interesting if not controversial life. Born in New England in 1822 to John Pierpont, an abolitionist and Unitarian clergyman, he traveled to Savannah in the 1850s, wrote "Jingle Bells" and took up arms against his native state during the Civil War.

When James was born, John Pierpont had little reason to suspect that his son would rebel so ardently and so long. James ran away from home at the tender age of 14, boarded the Shark, and served as a deck hand in the Pacific. Eventually returning, he headed to California during the Gold Rush.

In 1846 James was back in New England where he married Millicent Cowee of Troy, N.Y. They settled in Medford, Mass. and had three children. In 1853 Millicent died prematurely and James headed to Savannah to visit his brother John Pierpont Jr., rector of the Unitarian Church at Troup Square. Eventually taking the position of music director, James tried to piece his life back together. In 1857 he married Eliza Jane Purse, daughter of war time Savannah mayor Thomas Purse. The same year he obtained a copyright for his song "The One Horse Open Sleigh," which later became "Jingle Bells."

Apparently, his father-in-law had a significant impact on James. In April 1862, James enlisted as a clerk in the First Georgia Battalion which soon became part of the 5th Georgia Volunteer Cavalry, C. S. Army. James saw hypocrisy in the North's anti-slavery stance since many made money from it.

True to form, his father accepted a position as a chaplain in the Union Army and served with the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteers. Later, he worked in the Treasury Department and become friends with the Lincoln family. He died soon after the end of the war.

It is likely that James saw limited action during his war years. An ad in a 1863 Savannah newspaper offered a reward for a stolen horse that belonged to "James Pierpont of the Isle of Hope Regiment." James composed several patriotic songs during his war years, among them, "We Conquer Or Die," "Our Battle Flag," and "Strike for the South."

After the war, James spent time in Valdosta and Quitman and eventually became a music professor at Quitman Academy. His last years were spent at his son's home in Winter Haven, Fla. In spite of its success, James never witnessed the enormous popularity of "Jingle Bells," enjoying neither fame nor fortune. He died in 1893 as a footnote in history, his accomplishments largely unrecognized. He was buried in Florida, but his body was moved less than a year later to Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah.

A controversy erupted in 1989 when the people of Medford, Mass., claimed that James had written "Jingle Bells" there and not in Savannah. Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn fired the first shot. In a letter to then Savannah mayor John P. Rousakis he stated: "We take strong exception to Mr. Rahn's theory that Jingle Bells was not written in Medford, Mass., in 1850." McGlynn's claims are based on two facts: An original historical marker once in front of the Simpson Tavern where James supposedly composed the song and an eyewitness. The marker was damaged by a snow plow and discarded, but the Medford Historical Society has a record of the marker. According to McGlynn, the marker is proof of his city's claims. In addition, McGlynn states that Pierpont composed Jingle Bells in front of a Mrs. Otis Waterman "at the Simpson Tavern on Mr. William Weber's piano in 1850.On May 24 Mayor Rousakis replied: "We are happy to share with you our documentation regarding James Lord Pierpont's years in Savannah..." Rousakis cited numerous Pierpont letters to disprove the Medford theory. "As you know," Rousakis wrote, "historians and those who propose to erect markers must work with facts, not folklore and assumptions." Rousakis listed several reasons to substantiate his own claims.

Local author Margaret DeBolt, who has studied and written extensively about Pierpont, sees holes in McGlynn's theory. "In 1850 Pierpont was in California, not in Medford," she said. "He was there during the Gold Rush, not as a miner but as a businessman and was also trying to set up a photography shop in San Francisco."

"Plus," she adds, "the Simpson Tavern referred to was a boarding house in 1850, only later did it become a tavern."

The controversy remains and both cities have markers that claim Pierpont's song as their own.

Yet, a few facts are constant: Both agree that the song originated from Pierpont's remembrance of his childhood days spent sleighing in the New England snow, and "Jingle Bells," no matter where it was written, has been a holiday favorite for over a century.

This article first appeared in "Connect Savannah"  March 12, 2000

Reprinted by permission of Timothy Daiss

 

MORE ON James LORD Pierpont

 James LORD Pierpont, son of JOHN PIERPONT & Mary Sheldon Lord, was born in Massachusetts in 1822. He married Millicent Cowee of Troy, New York. In 1857, after Millicent died, James married Eliza Jane Purse.. She was a daughter of THOMAS Purse &  ELIZA JANE SMALL. James wrote the song "The One Horse Open Sleigh”, which later became "Jingle Bells.” He and his family are listed in the 1880 Brooks County, Georgia census. James Died in 1893 in Winter Haven, Florida., body moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 1895. [ANCESTRY.COM]
 

Note: James is the Uncle of J. P. Morgan.