Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou

by Maturin M. Ballou

Rev. Thomas Whittemore, a devoted, constant, and consistent friend of Mr. Ballou, and who was also regarded by the subject of these memoirs almost like one of his own family, thus speaks of this period:—"This society had just finished their house, the present venerable structure, on School-street. They never for a moment had a thought of seeking any other pastor than the Rev. Hosea Ballou, if it were possible to obtain his services; and, accordingly, two months before the house was ready for dedication, a letter of inquiry was dispatched to him, to draw out his sentiments in regard to a removal to Boston. In the mean time the house was hurried on to completion. Rev. Messrs. Jones, of Gloucester, Turner, of Charlestown, Ballou, of Salem, and Dean, of Boston, were invited to join in the dedicatory services; Father Jones being invited to preach the sermon, and the others to arrange the remaining services at their discretion. The dedication took place on Wednesday, October 16. Mr. Ballou was not present, as he was at the time in the country. On the following Tuesday a meeting of the proprietors was holden, and Mr. Ballou was invited to take the pastoral charge by a unanimous vote. The salary was fixed, at first, at thirteen hundred dollars per annum, to which donations of fuel were occasionally made. He was installed on December 25, 1817. Rev. Paul Dean preached, on the occasion, from Acts 20: 24. He also gave the fellowship of the churches. Rev. E. Turner, of Charlestown, made the installing prayer, and gave the charge. Rev. Joshua Flagg, who had succeeded Mr. Ballou at Salem, offered the concluding prayer.

"Thus was Mr. Ballou duly installed as pastor. The congregations that attended on his ministry were exceedingly large. He soon became widely known for his eloquence and boldness, and the novel nature of the subjects discussed by him. His preaching was of a controversial and doctrinal character. He explained, in his discourses, those texts which had been supposed to teach the doctrine of a judgment in the future state, and endless torment. He was repeatedly called on, by letter, from inquirers after truth, to preach from particular texts of this character; and, as he gave public notice of the time when he would explain such passages, his audiences were immensely large. It was usual, from Sabbath to Sabbath, to see the meeting-house filled, in the forenoon, so that it was difficult to obtain a seat. In the afternoon, many would be obliged to stand, especially in the galleries, and around the head of the stairs; and in the evening the aisles would be crowded, above and below.

"For the last six or eight years preceding the rise of the Second Universalist Society, Universalism had produced little or no excitement in Boston. The First Society remained stationary. Mr. Dean, its pastor, preached little on those subjects on which he differed from other sects. In the vicinity of Boston there was no movement in favor of Universalism. There were scarcely ten Universalist pastors in Massachusetts. The cause was evidently languid. The rise of the Second Universalist Society in Boston, and the removal of Mr. Ballou thither, produced a new state of things. There arose a commotion among the elements; but the effect was to purify the atmosphere, and give men a clearer and more extended vision. New societies, holding Mr. Ballou's sentiments, soon began to arise around Boston."

On settling in Boston, he at once found a host of true and solicitous friends, whose interest in his ministry, respect for his character, and attention to his general welfare, enlisted in their behalf his warmest feelings of regard; sentiments which were ever cherished by him to the last, and frequently recurred to at his own fireside, and in the quiet of his family circle. Exercised by a realizing sense of this fact, the more keenly when he remembers that his father can give oral form to these feelings no longer, the author of this humble biography has at its commencement dedicated it to the subject's cherished friends.

We have thus given a memoir of Mr. Ballou's life up to the period of his settlement in Boston, where he was destined to operate upon a more extended field of action,—where his mental and physical powers, thoroughly trained and tested as they had been, were to be taxed more heavily still; and where he was destined to build for himself a name that will live in the grateful memory of future generations, and to erect for himself a monument that points further heavenward than eastern pyramids,—the savor of a truly Christian life.

Immediately on his becoming settled in Boston, in addition to the duties of his pastoral charge, and that of writing for two or three religious periodicals, Mr. Ballou was obliged to answer the frequent demands that poured in upon him, from every quarter, to lecture and to preach in the numerous towns within ten, twenty, and often fifty miles of the city, at a time when the means of communication were, at best, but very indifferent,—rendering it necessary for him to drive his own vehicle, in order to reach the desired point without loss of time. So frequent and urgent were these demands for his services, in towns and villages of New England, that week-days, as well as Sundays, were occupied in holding forth to the people, who came from far and near to hear him. Not unfrequently were several consecutive days thus employed; portions of the night even being improved in travelling between the several places when at a great distance apart, and sleep, or rest of any sort, being but sparingly indulged in. But so zealous was he in the glorious cause that filled his whole soul,—so thoughtless of self, and so wedded to his Master's business,—that his own labors seemed to him as nothing; and neither his energies nor his spirits were wearied for a single moment. The bow of his mind and body both seemed ever strung and bent, yet never to lose their elasticity. The amount of actual physical labor which he thus performed can hardly be estimated; but certain it is that he must have been almost miraculously sustained, to have endured so much fatigue without most serious injury.

"Soon after coming to Boston," says Mr. Ballou, "opposition to my Unitarian views, and to the way in which I explained many important passages of Scripture, put on a serious aspect. Most of this opposition was exercised by professed Universalist preachers. There was much hypocrisy and low cunning set to work in order to check my success; but, though this was a source of much grief to my heart, it was the means of calling into action all my resources, which I found it necessary to put in requisition for the defence of the truth. All this resulted in good. My editorial duties, my necessarily long sermons three times on every Sabbath, giving evening lectures at home and in the neighboring towns, tried to the utmost my physical powers of endurance. With all these engagements, I was writing and publishing the two volumes of my Lecture Sermons, and my Select Sermons, which proved too much for my strength, and I brought on a weakness in my left side that has affected me for years."

The weakness here referred to was doubtless caused by sitting for hours together at his writing-table in his study, with only such brief intervals as were necessarily consumed in taking his frugal meals. At such times he partook very sparingly of any kind of nourishment, declaring, when solicited on this point, that his brain was clearer, his mind more vigorous, when he ate but little, than when he allowed himself fully to satisfy his appetite. During the hours devoted to writing he was never disturbed; his children never for one moment forgot that he was thus engaged; and though they might pass through his apartment, still it was with a careful step and noiseless way, that showed their constant consideration for one whom they so much venerated. When he was thus engaged, for the last thirty years, having become relieved of the immediate domestic cares of her family, his wife always sat with him, sewing, knitting, or reading, but never interrupting him. Thus they grew, year by year, when he was in the house, more and more inseparable, and the tender regard of each seemed to increase for the other as year after year whitened their venerable locks.

Concerning the period of his early settlement in Boston, Rev. Sylvanus Cobb says:—"When Mr. Ballou entered upon his labors here, benignantly warring upon the hurtful errors which enslaved and paralyzed the common mind, and elucidating those prominent gospel truths which are the bread of life to the soul, there was an extensive movement of mind in the city, and in the region round about, far and near. When the Twenty-six Lectures, published by Henry Bowen, were in the process of delivery, the church was usually filled an hour before the set time of beginning, and multitudes would be going away who could not find entrance. He had done much before this, by his ministry in other places, and the publication of his Notes on the Parables, Treatise on Atonement, and controversy with Robinson, to advance the cause of truth; but he was now providentially placed at a commanding stand-point, a central position, the commercial emporium of New England, whence his influence went out through all the land. Business men, from different parts, who had occasion to be in Boston over the Sabbath, would go in at School-street church, become convinced by the able expounder's arguments, go home, taking with them some of his publications, and commence a work in their respective neighborhoods, which, in many cases, resulted in the formation of societies."

As a sample of the spirit he was forced to encounter, and the animosity felt against Universalists generally, and their teachings, by the clergy of other persuasions, we relate the following anecdote. Being in the town of Mattapoisett, Mass., during one of his short journeys into the neighboring country to fulfil professional engagements, Mr. Ballou found that he must stop there for the night. It was soon known in the village that he was to remain for this period, and he was at once waited upon by a committee chosen for the purpose, and informed that the town's people were exceedingly anxious to hear him preach, and that permission had been obtained for him to hold forth in the Orthodox meeting-house, if agreeable to himself. Mr. Ballou cheerfully consented to their wishes, and the people were notified accordingly. It is proper to state, that several among those who invited Mr. Ballou to preach here, were themselves large share-holders in the meeting-house, and in two instances members of the church. Notwithstanding all this, when Mr. Ballou came to the meeting-house, not anticipating the least opposition to his purpose, he was met at the door by the Orthodox clergyman then officiating here, and who positively forbade his entrance. In vain did Mr. Ballou attempt calmly to reason with him; still the excited pastor insisted most vociferously that he should not enter, although fully informed of all the circumstances. Nor would he yield until at length he was absolutely dragged away forcibly by his own friends.