Congregational clergyman, abolitionist, author, b. Barre, N.Y. He was educated at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, N.Y., Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y. (1843), attended Andover Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass., and graduated from Yale Theological Seminary (1847). He was ordained as a minister in 1847, and held pastorates in Connecticut and New York before moving to Milwaukee in 1858. Here, he was pastor of the Spring St. (now Grand Ave.) Congregational Church until 1871. A product of the Puritan tradition of Jonathan Edwards, he wrote numerous books on religion, was an ardent abolitionist, and wrote Child's Book on Slavery (1857). He was a member of the Christian Commission Service during the Civil War, and was active in the Freedmen's Bureau. Love was the author of Wisconsin in the War of the Rebellion (1866). He moved frequently after he left Wisconsin. Natl. Cyclopaedia Amer. Biog., 11 (1909); O. B. Blix, comp. and ed., 100 Years of Christian Service ( [Milwaukee] 1947); Berlin (Conn.) News, Oct. 20, 1898; Milwaukee Evening Wis., Sept. 6, 1898; WPA field notes.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the William De Loss Love Papers for details.

Learn More

Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]