Eliphalet Ball

Eliphalet Ball (July 29, 1772 – April 6, 1797) was a Presbyterian minister and an early settler in Saratoga County, New York. The town of Ballston ("Ball's Town") is named for him.

Ball was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of John Ball, jr. and Mary Tuttle. It has been said that his mother was a cousin of George Washington, but one biography states: "There is no known connection between this family and that of Mary Ball, the mother of President Washington." He studied Theology at Yale College in New Haven, where he graduated in 1748 and was "probably" licensed to preach.

In 1750 he married Elizabeth van Flamen (or Fleming) of New York City. The couple had three sons, Cornelius (1750–1771), who died young, John (1756–1838), Stephen, and Flamen (1761–1816). They had two daughters, Mary (1753–1803), who married General James Gordon, and Elizabeth (1769–1784), who died at age 15. After the death of his wife, Elizabeth, Ball married Ruth Beecher of Amity, New York in 1783; the couple had no children.

In 1754 he was chosen minister of the Presbyterian Church in Bedford, New York in Westchester County. He was a sympathizer of the "New-Light" movement of Henry Alline, part of the First Great Awakening, which rejected the power structure and ceremonials of the established church. They rejected the idea of predestination, and taught that all people have free will and therefore can be reborn into a personal relationship with God. This brought him into conflict with his more conservative congregation. Among other charges they accused him of "imprudent levity and unguarded airiness of deportment." He requested and was granted a "dismission" on December 21, 1768.

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