Hendley Stone Bennett

Hendley Stone Bennett (April 7, 1807 – December 15, 1891) was a slave owner, lawyer, jurist, Confederate Army officer, and U.S. Representative from Mississippi. He was born near Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, on April 7, 1807. Details of his early family life are sparse in the historical record, but he spent his youth in the South during a period of rapid territorial expansion and the entrenchment of the slaveholding economy that would shape his later career and political affiliations.

As a young man, Bennett moved to Mississippi, where he attended the public schools in West Point. He pursued legal studies and read law in the customary manner of the time. In 1830 he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi. His early legal practice in Columbus established him as a figure in the local bar and provided the foundation for his later judicial and political roles in the state.

Bennett’s legal career advanced significantly when he was appointed or elected to the bench as a judge of the circuit court of Mississippi, a position he held from 1846 to 1854. In this capacity he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters in a slaveholding state on the eve of the sectional crisis, gaining prominence and experience that would aid his transition into national politics. His service on the circuit court bench marked him as a leading Democratic jurist in Mississippi during the mid-nineteenth century.

As a member of the Democratic Party representing Mississippi, Bennett contributed to the legislative process during one term in the United States Congress. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1855, to March 4, 1857. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, amid intensifying national debates over slavery, states’ rights, and sectional balance. During this term he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Mississippi constituents. In 1856 he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination, bringing his congressional career to a close after a single term.

After leaving Congress, Bennett resumed the practice of law in Columbus, Mississippi. In 1859 he moved west to Paris, Lamar County, Texas, where he continued his legal practice. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he aligned with the Confederacy. He served as a captain in Company G of the 32nd Texas Cavalry Regiment in the Confederate States Army from August 5, 1861, to August 31, 1862. Following his period of military service, he again returned to civilian life and resumed the practice of law, remaining active in his profession during the turbulent Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction years in the South.

In 1886 Bennett returned to his native area in Franklin, Tennessee, where he continued to practice law in his later years. He lived there until his death in Franklin on December 15, 1891. Hendley Stone Bennett was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin, closing a long life that spanned from the early national period through the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century.