The Stiles family genealogy has been traced back through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Connecticut, Massachusetts and England. David Stiles was born in New Brunswick in 1812. He married Mary Ann Wright in 1835 and they had several children at their modest home in Hopewell Hill. David was a sea captain.
David's and Mary Ann's children were Mary Ann, John Harvey, Lucy Elizabeth, Isabella R, Henrietta, Ernest Albert and Sarah Alberta.
Henry John Bennett & Henrietta Stiles were married on September 22, 1869. They took up residence in Hopewell Cape at a home on the water side of the Great Road to Moncton. Their home was located across the road from the local one room schoolhouse.
On Sunday, July 3, 1870, Henrietta took the two hour long wagon ride to Hopewell Hill to attend the Methodist Church and visit her parents. She unexpectedly went into labour and her first child, Richard Bedford Bennett, was born. Mother and child remained in Hopewell Hill for a few days before returning home to Hopewell Cape. There would be five other children born to Henry and Henrietta.
