Ballou, Hosea, 1796-1861

Universalist minister, author, educator. Minister in Stafford, Conn., Roxbury, Mass., and Medford, Mass. President of Tufts University (1854-1861). Author of The Ancient History of Universalism (1829). See sketch in Dictionary of American Biography.

Hosea Ballou II (1796-1861) was born in Vermont and was the grandnephew of Hosea Ballou. A Universalist minister, he wrote The Ancient History of Universalism, and worked to elevate the standards of biblical criticism among Universalists. He served congregations in Stafford, Connecticut; Roxbury, Massachusetts; and Medford, Massachusetts. Ballou was an early proponent of formal theological education for ministers and, beginning in 1841, he worked diligently to establish a Universalist college. He is recognized as the founder of Tufts College, where he served as its first president from 1853 until 1861.