Three Generations of Distinguished Gentlemen on SSI
Jim Benefield (standing) and father Dewey Benefield attending 'One Last Night' at the old Cloister Hotel
A picture sits on Jim Benefield’s desk that looks straight out of a Bond movie. The tuxedo-clad attorney (then in his 40s) stands beside his dad, legendary Dewey Benefield, also in black-tie, looking very Casino Royale.
The father and son were attending the old Cloister Hotel's ‘One Last Night’ party around 2003. Special guests and VIPs dined and spent the night in the fading hotel before its demolition.
Former Executive Director of the Sea Island Company and founder of the Real Estate Division, James D. (“Dewey) Benefield, Jr. came to St. Simons Island on a lark. In 1958, the young UGA graduate was heading north from Florida and turned right off I-17 (well before I-95) to visit a fraternity brother: Alfred W. “Bill” Jones, Jr.
Bill’s father, Alfred W. Jones Sr., offered Dewey a job. Bill’s wife Betty had a role in helping to keep Dewey local, by having a hand in Jim’s parents’ marriage. “I think Bill was probably dissatisfied with whomever my father was dating at the time,” says Jim. “He set Dad up with his wife’s college roommate, my mom. They went on a blind date and were married a year or six months later.”
“Somewhere along the line, Mr. Jones, Sr. said ‘We don’t have a real estate company so maybe you could start one…’ Back then, if you wanted to buy a house or a lot on Sea Island, maybe you’d leave your name on a piece of paper at the Cloister’s front desk and maybe somebody would call you back.”
—Jim Benefield on his father’s founding of Sea Island Company’s Real Estate Division
James D. "Jim" Benefield, III, Esq., James D. "Dewey" Benefield, Jr., Harrison Benefield, Esq.
Jim grew up on island. He went to Frederica Academy, attended UGA for undergrad and law school, and has been practicing law in Glynn County since 1988. “I went to work for Albert Fendig – one of my dad’s friends – and worked for him four or five years and did everything from insurance to wills to defense to real estate.”
Real estate stuck. At age 29, with three children in diapers, Jim opened his own law practice in an office across from the Brunswick Courthouse. “I did everything from bonding people out of jail, criminal cases, real estate, wills – any and everything. But all the while I still trended to real estate.”
After 17 years of practice in Brunswick, Jim moved his office to St Simons. His newest, “first lawyer” hire in the past 20 years is his son Harrison.
Jackson Benefield, Riley Benefield Mattox, Catherine Benefield, Harrison Benefield
An identical twin (brother Jackson lives in North Carolina), Harrison grew up on the island and attended UGA for undergrad, majoring in business. He then moved to Charleston and started a career in logistics brokerage with clients that included Home Depot and Mitsubishi. COVID’s logistical quagmire helped Harrison decide to go to law school. He attended Charleston School of Law and eventually moved back home to join his father’s practice. His sister Riley Benefield Mattox also lives on the island, while the youngest Benefield, Catherine, currently lives in Charleston.
St. Simons is like a magnet that pulls you back in. It’s interesting to see who’s returned and who hasn’t – and who’s on St. Simons now that you didn’t expect.”
—Harrison Benefield
The father-son attorney team have been pleasantly surprised at how well the partnership is going. Both agree they balance each other out in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
Harrison and Jim in the courtroom
“I’ve seen everything there is to see in the last 37 years of practicing law in this community, says Jim. “Harrison brings fresh energy and a new perspective to everything – an interest in technology, social media, and growing the business – and meeting new people.”
Harrison adds, “We just trusted it would go well and it has!”
The Benefield family has carved its niche here on the island, and this three-generation legacy that continues is one that leaves us stirred, not shaken.
