Stuart was the 1903 Christmas gift for his parents, James Archibald "Capt. Archie" Bennett and Mary Carolyn Jarboe Bennett who were married earlier that year. He was born at home, as St. Mary's County's first hospital wasn't opened until 1912. The Bennett home was located near the top of the hill along the road to Foxwell's Point and Wharf, where steamships stopped en route to Leonardtown Wharf. It was a convenient location for this family of sailors. They had a multigenerational household that included his GGF, Capt. John M. Wheeler, his GM, Mary Emily Wheeler Bennett and 3 aunts, as well as his parents. Extended family lived next door (Jarboe's) and down the hill (Foxwell's). This was the heyday of oystering and it brought success to his father. When Stuart was 3, a brother, James Allan Bennett, was born. At that time, public education was in a two-room schoolhouse. He would have had his Foxwell relative, Erva "Sissy" Foxwell, for grades 1-3 at Leonardtown School. Likely inspired by his uncle, Professor Charles Gwinn Jarboe, who lived next door and taught at Charlotte Hall Military Academy, Stuart was accepted there for his high school education. This remarkable school was one of the oldest in the nation, dating from 1774. Students came from all parts of Maryland and some from nearby states. He excelled academically and socially. This handsome cadet was the 1921 Class President, President of the Washington and Stonewall (reading and debating) Society and graduated second in his class. His motto, as found in their 1921 yearbook, was "It pays to study." He was not one to put anything off to "tomorrow." One glance at his handwriting on his WW2 draft registration, shows his neatness and attention to detail. The military discipline and leadership skills developed at Charlotte Hall were factors in his success as a local banker with the Eastern Shore Trust Company in Leonardtown. The classical revival style-building still stands on the west side of Washington Street (Maryland Historical Trust #SM-345). Stuart was hired by the Cashier, Stephen M. Jones, who lived at nearby Foxwell's Point. Together they weathered the shared anguish of the Great Depression when their neighbors and friends were subject to loan defaults. It was an extraordinarily difficult time. In 1933, he married his second cousin, Elizabeth Aist. They did not have any children of their own, but welcomed them at church or at the bank. When Stephen M. Jones passed away in 1942, Stuart became the Cashier (head of that bank branch). He and his wife were active members of St. Paul's Methodist Church, where she was a talented organist. Stuart and "Betty" were buried in the Methodist Cemetery.

Contributor: Janet Brown (50807360)