Abraham Watkins Venable

(1799-1876)

At a Glance

Abraham Watkins Venable is listed as a  "one of the gentlemen who have patronized the School"  in the Burwell School Catalogue of 1848-51 [1]. Two of his daughters, Isabella Brown Venable  and Martha Elizabeth Venable , were Burwell School girls.

Story

Abraham Watkins Venable took an AB from Hampden-Sydney College in 1816, studied medicine for several years, took an MA at Princeton in 1819, and was admitted to the bar in 1821. There followed a long distinguished political career. Venable was a Presidential Elector in 1832 and 1836; a member of the United States Congress in 1847, 1849, 1851, 1853; and Representative of the Granville District, North Carolina, to the Congress of the Confederate States when Richmond was the seat of government. He was a staunch friend of John C. Calhoun. He was an elder of the Presbyterian Church for over fifty years and a member of the Board of Trustees of Hampden-Sydney College.

In 1824 he married Isabella Alston Brown. The Venables of Brownsville, Oxford, Granville County had five children. Two of their children, Isabella Brown Venable  and Martha Elizabeth Venable , are known to have attended the Burwell School.

Abraham Watkins Venable died February 19, 1876 at Brownsville, Oxford, Granville County.

Biographical Data

Important Dates

Abraham Watkins Venable was born on October 14, 1799. He died on February 19, 1876.

Places of Residence

• Granville County, NC [2].
• Prince Edward County, VA, until 1838 [2].

Schools Attended

• Hampden-Sydney College [2].
• Princeton University [2].

Occupations

• Presidential Elector [2].
• US Congress member. Abraham Watkins Venable was a Member of Congress both in the United States and Confederate States of America [2].

Relatives

• Spouse: Isabella Alston Brown, married in 1824 [2].
  Children:
  
  • two sons, Thomas Brown Venable (d. 1894) [2] and Samuel Frederick Venable [2].
  • three daughters, Isabella Brown Venable  [2], Martha Elizabeth Venable (1833-1877)  [2] and Mary Grace Venable [2].
• Others: Abraham Venable Martin (grandson), Annie Belle Martin (granddaughter), Edward Vernon Martin (grandson), Grace Vernon Martin (granddaughter), Martha Alexander Martin (granddaughter) and Stephen Taylor Martin, [Jr.] (grandson, d. 1899).

References

1. Burwell School Catalogue of 1848-51.
2. Mary Claire Engstrom. The Book of Burwell Students: Lives of Educated Women in the Antebellum South. (Hillsborough: Hillsborough Historic Commission, 2007).