Stephen Bloomer Balch

Stephen Bloomer Balch (April 5, 1747 – September 7, 1833) was a Presbyterian minister and educator in Georgetown, which is now part of Washington, D.C. In 1780, Balch established Georgetown Presbyterian Church, which was the second church in Georgetown. He also served as headmaster of the Columbian Academy in Georgetown.

Early life and education Balch was born on April 5, 1747, on his father James Balch's holding, "Bond's Hope", on the north side of Deer Creek in Baltimore County in present-day Harford County, Maryland. He attended the College of New Jersey, later renamed Princeton University, where his classmates included Aaron Burr and William Bradford. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1774.

In 1779, Balch was ordained as minister by the Presbyterian church. After that, he arrived in Georgetown, where he preached at Georgetown Lutheran Church. In 1780, he began preaching out of a small house used as a school during the week near Bridge Street, which is present-day M Street. Balch also became headmaster of the Columbian Academy in Georgetown, which is where George Washington sent his nephews.

A building was constructed for the church on Bridge Street at Washington Street, on present-day 30th Street, in 1782. The church expanded in 1793 and again in 1801, but the size was still insufficient. A new structure was built in 1821, and the church later relocated to P Street the 1870s. Many notable residents of Washington and Georgetown attended the church. Balch preached to a large crowd after the death of George Washington on December 12, 1799. George Ninian Beall Balch, the Reverend Thomas Bloomer Balch (Princeton, 1813), Anne Eleanora Balch (married Capt. James Campbell Wilson), Elizabeth Maria Balch (married Rev. Septimus Tustin), Jane Whann Balch (married Rev. William Williamson) and Hezekiah James (died young) and Franklin (died young).

His wife died in 1827, and a year later at age 82 he married Elizabeth King, who survived the ceremony only 18 days. In 1830, he married a widow, Mrs. Jane Parrott. Balch remained the pastor of Georgetown Presbyterian Church until his death.

Death Balch died on September 7, 1833, in Washington, D.C.