Rev. Hosea Ballou 2nd, a Universalist clergyman, was a grand nephew of Hosea Ballou founder of Universalism in America. In the Book 'Hosea Ballou 2nd D.D.' by Hosea Starr Ballou of Brookline, Mass., a nephew of Hosea 2nd, there is much of interest concerning the early history of Guilford and Halifax."
--from The Official History of Guilford, Vermont

While much is on the Web regarding Hosea 2nd's great-uncle, Hosea 2nd gets shortchanged, even on his 200th birthday. His biography (above) is long out of print. He was instrumental in the founding Tufts College in 1852 as the first Universalist college in the country. The elder Hosea was a bit of an anti-intellectual and did not approve. While the younger Hosea was indeed the first president, he was the "2nd" choice, after Thomas Jefferson Sawyer, who declined. The first building was named for him after his death. Today, Ballou Hall neither holds classes nor houses students. Instead, it is where you can pay those amazing tuition bills. Last I knew, the front doors were a hole on the campus Frisbee golf course and you could knock two strokes off your score if you hit the president coming out.

Hosea Ballou was born in what was, at the time, the most populous town in Vermont. Today, Guilford is known mostly as the first town in Vermont you come to on Interstate 91 and also for the Guilford Fair on Labor Day--well worth attending. It is mostly a bedroom community of about 2000 with some agriculture. According to A Light on the Hill, the history of Tufts University, Hosea was not given that annoying suffix "2nd" at birth; he added it himself later in life to avoid confusion with his more-famous great-uncle.

Guilford residents care little about their most famous son who, after all, moved away to the city. No festivities are planned. The plaque might just as well be stored away with the Tufts Anti-Gravity stone.

To see the plaque, get off Exit 1 of I-91 and turn left (South) on Route 5. In 1.4 miles, in the village of Algiers, turn right by the Guilford Country Store onto Guilford Center Rd. There is a sign to the Historical Society. Follow this road 3.9 miles, winding along the Broad Brook, to the old settlement of Guilford Center.
You'll see the old white church that is now the Historical Society on your right. If you run out of pavement, you went too far. You can park at the Public Library or along the roadside. To go back south, I recommend following the road past the pavement and over the hill to the pretty village of Green River, with a covered bridge and swimming hole. The legend that a Vermont Life photographer is permanently stationed there has been dispelled. From there, follow the Green River Road many miles downstream back to Greenfield, Massachusetts and I-91.

The may be an influx of Tufts Grads on October 18th on a pilgrimage to pay homage to Hosea Ballou 2nd, but I doubt it.
If you feel sorry for Hosea Ballou 2nd, then don't miss these links:

• Tufts University --with no pictures of Hosea or of Ballou Hall.
• Yahoo map of Guilford --remember to follow Guilford Center Rd 3.9 miles.
• A Brief History of Unitarian Universalism --(They joined together in 1961).
• A Short Essay on Universalism --the elder Hosea's 1849 work.
• The Ancient History of Universalism --Reprints of the younger Hosea's 1829 book available here!
• Usenet - soc.religion.unitarian-univ --Usenet newsgroup where someone is usually talking about Hosea Ballou, but not the 2nd.
• AltaVista search for "Hosea Ballou 2nd" that returns no matches. Using a comma or "II" instead of "2nd" doesn't help. (Of course this will change when AltaVista finds this page.)
• I'm a Loser --Lyrics to the Beatles song.
• What's in a Name? --Humorous story on the Web about the trials of being a Junior.
• The Bear Necessities --As sung by Baloo the Bear in the Disney Movie The Jungle Book
• The Evangelical Universalist A website by Scott Wells, who will not let Hosea 2nd be lost to obscurity. (He actually linked to this page!)