Born near
Hampden-Sydney, in
Prince Edward,
Virginia, Venable attended the local school, McCabe's University High School,
Petersburg, Virginia, and the
University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He taught school for three years, and then returned to Petersburg in 1876 and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He served as delegate to the Democratic State convention in 1886, and presented credentials as a
Democratic Member-elect to the
Fifty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1889, to September 23, 1890, when he was succeeded by
John M. Langston, who successfully contested his election. After losing reelection, Venable resumed his former business pursuits. He died in
Baltimore, Maryland, December 8, 1908 and was interred in
Blandford Cemetery,
Petersburg, Virginia. ==Electoral history==