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On his release from Fort George, Tennant retained sufficient capital to quickly re-establish himself in business. By 1807, he wa one of the owners and directors of London and
Liverpool New Traders, a partnership that commanded 12 ships. In 1809 he helped found the Commercial Bank, in which he worked
379:
In 1817, Tennant was appointed treasurer of the First
Belfast Presbyterian Church, a "bastion of liberal 'new light' Presbyterianism" of which Drennan's father, Thomas Drennan, had been minister. When Tennant died of cholera in 1832 aged 73, he bequeathed to the Presbyterian Church the village and
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in which he argued that that division between
Catholics and Protestants was being used by English and landed interests to balance "the one party by the other, plunder and laugh at the defeat of both." Tone put forward the case for unity between Catholics, Protestants and Dissenters. In October 1791
161:
merchant and banker. He joined the
Belfast Chamber of Commerce in 1783, and was junior manager in the New Sugar House in Waring Street. He eventually became a partner in this business, and he held partnerships in the distilling firm of John Porter & Co. and the Belfast Insurance Co. By the time
356:
until, enlarged, it became
Belfast Banking Co. in 1827. He was on the Board of the Spring Water Commissioners and the Belfast Banking Company, and was Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce. Tennant eventually became the town's richest merchant and banker.
371:. Established on progressive principles, its mission was to render "less expensive the means of acquiring education; to give access to the walks of literature to the middle and lower classes of society; to make provision for the instruction of both sexes."
103:
who, in 1798, sought by insurrection to secure a representative and independent government for
Ireland. After a period of imprisonment, he returned to the commercial and civic of Belfast, in 1810 helping to found what is today the
649:
Richard R Madden 1860, The United
Irishmen: Their Lives and Times, with Several Additional Memoirs, and Authentic Documents, Heretofore Unpublished, the Whole Matter Newly Arranged and Revised, Volume 4, James Duffy, 1860 –
347:
Unlike the more high-profile prisoners like O'Connor and MacNeven who would not be released until June 1802, together with
Dickson and Simms, Tennant was permitted to return to Belfast in January 1802
146:
144:
their monopoly of position and influence against both
Presbyterians ("Dissenters") and the kingdom's dispossessed Roman Catholic majority. Rev. Tennant was an early subscriber to the
653:
Richard Torpin 2013, review of The 'Natural
Leaders' and their World: Politics, Culture and Society in Belfast, c. 1801–1832, (review no. 1464) (available at:
56:
708:
277:
253:
According to Wolfe Tone, Tennant had been a member of a pre-United Irishmen secret society in Belfast which included McTier and Haslett, as well as
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in 1795 as an established democratic party in Belfast, composed of "persons and rank long kept down" and chaired by a "radical mechanick".
364:
105:
329:
693:
555:
436:
506:
Curtin, Nancy (1985). "The Transformation of the Society of United Irishmen into a mass-based revolutionary organisation, 1794-6".
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Despairing of the prospects for reform, by 1795/6 Tennant was convinced of the case for a revolutionary insurrection against the
124:, the eldest eight children born to Reverend John Tennant and his wife Ann Patton. His father had been among the first Scottish
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598:
313:
235:
100:
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Kate Newman 2016, William Tennent (1760–1832): United Irishman and Banker, 'Dictionary of Ulster Biography', (available at:
140:), as a condition of public office. It was a position that had radical implications in Ireland where such tests secured the
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which he had purchased in 1814. He left behind at least 13 illegitimate children, all of whom he recognised and supported.
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703:
698:
360:
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99:(1759–1832), often spelt William Tennent, was an Ulster Presbyterian banker and a leading member in Belfast of the
413:
The United Irishmen: Their Lives and Times, with Several Additional Memoirs ... Newly Arranged and Revised. Vol. 4
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Jonathan Bardon 2013, From rebel town to right-wing bastion, 'The Irish Times' 23 November 2013, (available at:
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178:, was formed in Belfast by a group of the town's more radical Presbyterian reformers, enthused by the
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Martha McTier to Drennan, . Public Records Office Northern Ireland, Drennan Letters T.765/548, cited
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280:, Lord Lieutenant for just fifty days, was recalled to London for publicly urging support for
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548:
The 'Natural Leaders' and their World: Politics, Culture, and Society in Belfast, 1801-1832
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http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/from-rebel-town-to-right-wing-bastion-1.1604371
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Dissenting Voices: Rediscovering the Irish Progressive Presbyterian Tradition
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284:. With hopes for reform buried, these Jacobins, who had also organised in
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As a young man, William served as an apprentice with John Campbell, a
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http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1617#
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he reached adulthood, Tennant was a very prosperous businessman.
214:. He served Society's northern (Ulster) executive alongside
431:. Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation. pp. 99–101.
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for what proved to be the Society's inaugural meeting.
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in seeking to coalesce members in militia companies,
174:, originally proposed by Tennant's friend in Dublin,
304:, Tennant was arrested and held on a prison ship in
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20:
116:William Tennant was born in 1759 near Ballymoney,
136:, they refused to accept a sacramental test (the
550:. Liverpool University Press. pp. 41–42.
359:With William Drennan, Tennant and his brother
196:Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland
316:. On 25 March 1799, they were transferred to
8:
655:http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/1464
17:
593:. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. p. 80.
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541:
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106:Royal Belfast Academical Institution
292:, flooded United Irish societies.
142:Anglican ("Protestant") Ascendancy
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709:18th-century Irish businesspeople
199:they invited Tone and his friend
363:were co-founders in 1810 of the
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591:Belfast: An Illustrated History
410:Madden, Richard Robert (1860).
369:Belfast) Academical Institution
101:Society of the United Irishmen
1:
546:Wright, Jonathan J. (2012).
324:, where they were joined by
416:. James Duffy. p. 168.
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172:Society of United Irishmen
152:Society of United Irishmen
694:People from County Antrim
646:. Retrieved 3 March 2016)
639:. Retrieved 3 March 2016)
589:Bardon, Jonathan (1982).
508:Irish Historical Studies
427:Courtney, Roger (2013).
126:Anti-Bugher Presbyterian
296:Arrest and Imprisonment
150:, the newspaper of the
128:ministers to settle in
338:William James MacNeven
310:William Steel Dickson
282:Catholic Emancipation
242:, reading societies,
524:Madden 1860, pp 172.
400:Madden 1860, pp 168.
312:, Robert Hunter and
132:. Seceders from the
704:Irish Presbyterians
533:Madden 1860, pp 183
220:John Campbell White
216:Henry Joy McCracken
192:Theobald Wolfe Tone
166:The United Irishmen
75:Irish Revolutionary
487:Madden 1860, pp 13
478:Madden 1860, pp 7.
380:demesne of Tempo,
342:Thomas Addis Emmet
300:On the eve of the
265:Club described by
186:'s vindication of
134:Church of Scotland
122:Kingdom of Ireland
39:Kingdom of Ireland
699:Irish republicans
361:Dr Robert Tennent
302:rebellion of 1798
188:The Rights of Man
180:French Revolution
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261:. This was the
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240:masonic lodges
236:Simms brothers
224:Samuel Nielson
201:Thomas Russell
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622:Bardon 2013.
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613:Newman 2016.
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351:Later career
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184:Thomas Paine
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138:Burgher Oath
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49:20 July 1832
31:26 June 1759
15:
679:1832 deaths
674:1759 births
318:Fort George
668:Categories
630:References
600:0856402729
514:(96): 473.
375:Later life
269:'s sister
250:cells.
246:clubs and
212:Ascendancy
112:Early life
64:Occupation
120:, in the
650:Ireland.
322:Scotland
248:Defender
234:and the
210:and the
263:Jacobin
244:Jacobin
159:Belfast
53:Belfast
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340:, and
286:Dublin
130:Ulster
67:Banker
388:Notes
367:Royal
308:with
290:Derry
595:ISBN
552:ISBN
512:xxiv
433:ISBN
288:and
257:and
182:and
170:The
46:Died
28:Born
320:in
194:'s
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
