Rev. William Tennant

Presbyterian minister of Bucks county; see History of Neshaminy Presbyterian Church of Warwick, Hartsville, Bucks

Religious Leader, Educator. In 1727, William Tennent established a religious school in a log cabin in Pennsylvania to educate local boys for the ministry. A number of those educated there became revivalist preachers in the First Great Awakening. His sons, Gilbert and William were among of those who became noted early American clergymen. Some graduates went on to found schools along the frontier. His school became famous as the Log College which was a derisive nickname given by European educated ministers. Princeton University has sometimes been named as the successor to the Log College. William Tennent's son Gilbert was one of the founders of Princeton. William Tennent himself graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1695 and was ordained in the Church of Ireland in 1706. He arrived in the British colonies in 1718 and ended up in Pennsylvania because his wife's cousin was a close friend of William Penn. In 1726, he became the pastor of the Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church, and he remained here until the end of his life. The William Tennent High School has been named for him and the Log College Middle School in the Centennial School District in Bucks County was named in honor of the original Log College.