Eli Ball

BALL, Eli, b. Marlborough, Vermont, 2 November 1786; d. Richmond, Virginia, 21 July 1853. He was the son of Samuel H. Ball and Phebe Taylor Ball, the younger brother of Amos Ball, and the twin of Pheobe Ball. Following limited former education, he was tutored in Boston by Daniel Stafford in classics and by Caleb Blood in ministerial studies. He served congregations in Malden and Wilmington, Massachusetts; Lansingburg, New York; and Middletown, Connecticut, before moving to Virginia in 1823.  His first service in the mid-Atlantic was as pastor of the Baptist church (now First Baptist) in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he also operated a school for young women. He subsequently led congregations...