1924: Texas

After contracting influenza during WWI, Tenney’s hearing, which he had been gradually losing since childhood, deteriorated. He was unable to continue serving as a minister.

Then, in 1924, on his way to a class reunion at Princeton Theological Seminary, Tenney visited the  Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) in Philadelphia  (founded 1852), which was then located in the  Witherspoon Building  (at right). There he met the PHS librarian, Dr. Louis Benson, who was also deaf.

In 1924, Tenney moved his growing collection to a rented room inside the modern (and fire-resistant) Texarkana National Bank building in Texarkana, Texas. The collection quickly outgrew the space.