Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815 - 1904), best known for composing the song, "Dixie," was born in Mount Vernon.
His grandfather had moved to Ohio from Virginia and served in the Ohio legislature, as did his father. Emmett himself had no formal education, but taught himself to play the fiddle.
He published some 30 songs between 1843 and 1865, mostly banjo tunes.
Emmett toured the country performing before retiring to Mount Vernon in 1888, at age 73.
Emmett is in the U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame; Bing Crosby starred in the 1943 biographical film of his life, also titled, "Dixie," though they made him a Kentucky native.
"A young songwriter leaves his Kentucky home to try to make it in New Orleans. Eventually he winds up in New York, where he sells his songs to a music publisher, but refuses to sell his most treasured composition: "Dixie," describes Turner Classic Movies.
In 1911, Mount Vernon native Dess B. Kirk wrote in the Canton News-Democrat that Emmett was "almost forgotten except by a few of his old neighbors, but his song still lives and thrills the hearts of thousands."
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