Abraham Watkins Venable

Abraham Watkins Venable (17 October 1799 - 24 February 1876) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from North Carolina from 1847 to 1853 and a member of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War.

Born in Springfield, Virginia, Venable attended Hampden-Sydney College, graduating in 1816. He studied medicine at Princeton College, graduating in 1818 and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in Virginia in 1821.

In 1829, Venable moved to North Carolina. He was elected to the 30th United States Congress in 1846 and served for three terms; his bid for renomination to a fourth term in 1852 was unusccessful. In 1860, Venable was a presidential elector for the Democratic ticket. During the Civil War, Venable was a representative to the 1861 Provisional Confederate Congress and to the Confederate Congress from 1862 to 1864. Venable died in Oxford, North Carolina in 1876.