Background
Tennent was born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673.
(The life of the Rev. William Tennent, formerly pastor of ...)
The life of the Rev. William Tennent, formerly pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Freehold, in New Jersey.—In which is contained, among other interesting particulars, an account of his being three days in a trance, and apparently lifeless. Tennent's life is an interesting one. He was a contemporary of George Whitefield during the great awakening, and helped spread the Gospel in a brand-new America until his death in 1777.
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Tennent was born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673.
On July 11, 1695, he graduated from the University of Edinburgh.
Tennent was ordained deacon in the Church of Ireland on July 1, 1704, and priest on September 22, 1706. He is said to have been chaplain to an Irish nobleman but never to have had a parish, possibly because of non-conformist tendencies.
In middle life, sometime between 1716 and 1718, with his wife, four sons, and a daughter, he emigrated to Philadelphia, drawn to this particular city, perhaps, because here resided his wife's cousin, James Logan, a prominent Pennsylvania official. On Sept. 17, 1718, the Synod of Philadelphia acted upon a petition from Tennent requesting that he be admitted to the Presbyterian ministry. In a statement of his reasons for leaving the Established Church he affirmed his belief that the Episcopal form of church government was "anti-scriptural, " and expressed his objection to the Church's "conniving at the practice of Arminian doctrines inconsistent with the eternal purpose of God, and an encouragement of vice".
Admitted to the Presbyterian fellowship, he lived in East Chester, N. Y. , from November 22, 1718, to May 1, 1720, and then accepted a call to the church in Bedford, which he served until August 1726, though apparently in 1721 he preached for a brief period in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pa. In the fall of 1726 he became pastor at Neshaminy, Pa. , where he remained until his death. Soon after beginning work there, he took charge, also, of a congregation at Deep Run, to which he ministered until 1738.
After living on a farm between Neshaminy and Bensalem, said to have been given him by James Logan, he bought in 1735, perhaps through the financial assistance of Logan, 100 acres of land on the road from Philadelphia to New York. Here he lived and in 1736 erected his famous "Log College, " though he had earlier been giving instruction to his sons and possibly to others. The Presbyterians insisted upon an educated ministry, and the fact that candidates in that region could be properly fitted for the work only by going to New England or abroad made it difficult to increase the supply. The "Log College" was an attempt to meet this condition. Here Tennent's three younger sons, William, John, and Charles, all of whom entered the ministry, continued their training; the eldest, Gilbert, destined to be one of the chief agencies in the Great Awakening, was ordained about the time of its establishment. Here, too, such men as Samuel Blair and Samuel Finley were trained. Both conducted academies of their own and Finley became president of the College of New Jersey. The "College" was not without its detractors, however; in fact the title was given it in a spirit of derision. Many thought the training it offered, however good, inadequate, and in 1738 the Philadelphia Synod decreed that all candidates without diplomas from the Old World universities, Harvard, or Yale must be approved by a commission of the Synod. This edict the recently formed Presbytery of New Brunswick, made up largely of "Log College" men, opposed and disregarded. The feeling between the two parties was intensified by the fact that the Tennents were aggressively evangelistic and welcomed Whitefield and his methods. The elder Tennent went to Philadelphia to visit him in 1739, and in November of that year Whitefield spent several days at Neshaminy, writing in his journal (post), under date of November 22, a description of the "College" and its founder. He also preached extensively in the bounds of the New Brunswick Presbytery, giving the weight of his approval and support to its members. Thus the spirit and work of Tennent contributed greatly to strengthen the "New Side" cause and helped to bring about the schism of 1741 in the Presbyterian Church.
Tennent continued his teaching until his death in 1746, at which time the "Log College" ceased to exist; but that same year its supporters united with others in organizing the College of New Jersey.
(The life of the Rev. William Tennent, formerly pastor of ...)
Tennent was well educated, a faithful pastor, a teacher of unusual ability, and withal a man of genuine piety and evangelistic zeal.
On May 15, 1702, married Catharine, daughter of Rev. Gilbert Kennedy, a prominent Scotch Presbyterian.
