Abraham Bedford VENABLE, Congress, VA (1758-1811)

VENABLE, Abraham Bedford, (uncle of Abraham Watkins Venable), a Representative and a Senator from Virginia; born on ‘State Hill’ farm, near Prince Edward Court House (now Worsham), Prince Edward County, Va., November 20, 1758; attended Hampden-Sidney (Va.) College and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1780; engaged as a planter in his native county; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1784 and commenced practice at Prince Edward Court House; elected to the Second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1791-March 3, 1799); was not a candidate for renomination in 1798; chairman, Committee on Elections (Fourth Congress); elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Stevens T. Mason and served from December 7, 1803, to June 7, 1804, when he resigned to become president of the first national bank organized in Virginia; perished at the burning of a theater in Richmond, Va., December 26, 1811; interment of ashes, with those of other fire victims, under a stone in front of the altar in Monumental Church, Richmond, Va.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present