Ballou family.

Hosea Ballou 2d became the first president of Tufts College in 1853. These papers relate to his ancestors and descendents. Hosea Ballou 2d studied theology under his great-uncle Hosea senior and attained his first pastorate in 1817 at 20 years of age in Stafford, Connecticut. He would become a well known Universalist clergyman, theologian, and historian. He presided over the parishes of Roxbury and Medford, Massachusetts, from 1821-1852, published the "Ancient History of Universalism" in 1829, and received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from, and became an Overseer of, Harvard University in 1845. Having been one of the most significant influences in the establishment of Tufts College, Hosea Ballou 2d became its first president in 1853. He was its first professor of History and Intellectual Philosophy. Hosea Ballou 2d established the college's first curriculum, which led to the Bachelor of Arts degree. He died in office in 1861. Later records in this collection come from Hosea 2d's brother William Starr Ballou and his family.