Edmund Hamilton Sears (April 6, 1810 – January 14, 1876) was an American Unitarian parish minister and author who wrote a number of theological works influencing 19th century liberal Protestants. Sears is known today primarily as the man who penned the words to "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" in 1849. It has been sung to two tunes, one by Richard Storrs Willis and another adapted by Arthur Sullivan from a traditional English air.
Sears originally wrote the song as a melancholy reflection on his times while a minister in Wayland, Massachusetts, USA. However, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" has since become a popular Christmas carol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Sears