A Presbyterian minister who helped inspire the foundation of the famous Princeton University will be honoured at the historic Co Armagh church where he used to worship.
Rev William Tennent also laid the foundations for Presbyterian worship in the United States in the early 18th century.
Today he will be honoured with a blue plaque from the Ulster History Circle, which will be unveiled at Vinecash Presbyterian Church near Portadown. Rev Tennent was born in Scotland in 1673 and graduated from Edinburgh University.
He’s thought to have arrived in the north of Ireland as chaplain to the Hamilton family, who had considerable land and influence at the time.
Advised by their relative James Logan, who was born in Lurgan, to emigrate to Pennsylvania, Rev Tennent and his family travelled with the first major exodus of Ulster people in 1718.
Logan, a close friend of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, granted them land and money for a house at Neshaminy, Bucks County, 20 miles north of Philadelphia.
Rev Tennent later built a wooden school to educate his sons and others, following the pattern in Ireland where dissenters were excluded from Trinity College Dublin and were often educated by Presbyterian ministers in country districts.
At the time critics sneered at his humble school, calling it the “Log College”, but its foundation has been described as the most important event in colonial Presbyterianism. It was in that 20ft long cabin where Rev Tennent taught future Presbyterian ministers who served the growing number of congregations in the colonies.
According to a monument on the site of Log College, more than 60 schools and colleges owe their existence, directly or indirectly, to Tennent’s example.
The Log College in Pennsylvania, the inspiration for Princeton University.
Read more
He had four sons who were ministers and charismatic leaders of what became known as the Great Awakening, a revival of religious life and evangelical belief among colonial Protestants.
Wendy Wirsch, director of the William Tennent Historic Home, which is near the site of the original Log College, described him as an “igniter of revival fire and father of education”.
Inspired by his example, his students supported the founding of the College of New Jersey, the forerunner of Princeton, one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.
His efforts weren’t without controversy. The founders of the College of New Jersey did not approve of the Tennents’ emphasis on personal piety and religious experience, favouring an education in the liberal arts and sciences.
But Log College graduates, including two of Rev Tennent’s sons, strongly supported the New Jersey establishment and later became trustees of Princeton.
Rev Tennent died on May 6, 1746, and is today regarded as a pathfinder for the Presbyterian Church and for education in America.
Chris Spurr, chairman of the Ulster History Circle said: “The Ulster History Circle is delighted to commemorate this distinguished religious leader and educator with a blue plaque at Vinecash Presbyterian Church.”