Lifelong Madison resident celebrating 100th

Sarah Bell Hart Bennett  will celebrate her 100th Birthday with her family and friends on Saturday, November 2. The birthday celebration will take place at 520 Catlett Road at noon.  

Mrs. Bennett was born on November 2, 1924. Her parents were Jake Hart and Lela Williams. Mrs. Bennett’s grandmother, Mrs. Rebecca Nicholson Williams, was born enslaved on the DeWees Plantation off Stribling Road near Lake Caroline in Madison County.  

Mrs. Bennett was born and raised in Madison County (which was also called and considered the city of Madison back then). She has lived in Madison County her entire life.  

Mrs. Bennett was married at the age of 19 in October 1943 to Mr. Jessie Bennett (he was 28 years old). They were married for 63 wonderful years until Mr. Bennett’s death in 2007. He was 91 years old when he died. They birthed and raised 10 children — four sons and six daughters. All 10 children are alive today.  

Mrs. Sarah Bennett and her late husband, Jessie Bennett, Sr., were sharecroppers until they purchased their own farm land in the mid-1950s, which the family still lives on today. 

Mrs. Bennett and her late husband made it a priority to ensure that all their children received a formal education. Although she completed only the 11th grade, she became her children's first teacher. She took great joy in teaching them, particularly during their early years, and personally taught each of them to read and write before they started school.  This was done during the time when there were no head start or other pre-school programs. Her children's teachers consistently praised Mrs. Bennett for her children’s high level of academic skills.  

Mrs. Bennett’s oldest daughter Lear Pearl Saddler comments, “That if their mother could have continued her education that she would have been one of the best physicians of all time based upon her many home remedies that she used to nurse her children back to health whenever they got sick or injured. She took care of us and we love her for that.”   

All of Mrs. Bennett’s children graduated from high school and went on to attend college, with the majority of them earning a bachelor's degree or higher. 

Mrs. Bennett's children attended Rosa Scott School until the integration of schools in 1973. She and her late husband, Jessie Bennett, played a key role as concerned parents during the integration of the schools in Madison.

She registered her home as a designated Madison County Schools’ bus stop. The school bus drivers still use Mrs. Bennett’s driveway as a location to turn around their buses each school day.   

Mrs. Bennett is an active member of the Liberal Trinity Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Jackson. She has been a member there for 41 years. She serves as a distinguished and dedicated Mother of the church. She has earned 1st and 2nd place honors as “Mother of the Year” and has served as President of the Church’s Prayer and Bible Band for 24 years. Before joining Liberal Trinity COGIC, she was a dedicated member of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church on Gluckstadt Road in Madison County, for over 40 years. 

Mrs. Bennett has 18 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. 

Mrs. Bennett takes pride in participating in the democratic process by exercising her right to vote. She has faithfully voted in every election since 1964, when African Americans gained the right to vote in the United States. She looks forward to voting in the November 5, 2024 Presidential Election. 

Mrs. Bennett, reflecting on the significance of her 100th birthday, shared her enthusiasm. “I give God all of the honor and praise for blessing me to live 100 years on this earth. People ask me all the time what is the key to longevity. My answer is honoring your parents, treating people right, taking care of yourself, praying to God, praising God, and attending church. To God be the Glory for the things that He has done in my life.”