Venable, Charles S. (Charles Scott), 1827-1900

Confederate officer, aide to Robert E. Lee, and professor of mathematics at South Carolina College (1857-1862) and at the University of Virginia following the Civil War until retirement in 1893; author of several mathematics text books; born at "Longwood", in Prince Edward County, Va.; husband of Margaret Cantey McDowell.

From the description of Charles S. Venable papers, 1858-1934. (University of South Carolina). WorldCat record id: 43541303

Confederate officer, aide to Robert E. Lee, and professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia.

From the description of Charles S. Venable papers, 1862-1894 (1863-1864) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 25031617

From the guide to the Charles S. Venable Papers, (bulk, )., 1862-1894, 1863-1864, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

Born on his father Nathaniel Venable’s estate in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Charles Scott Venable (1827-1900) attended Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Virginia before becoming a mathematics professor at Hampden-Sydney. In 1856, he married Margaret Cantey McDowell, daughter of Governor James McDowell, and the couple eventually had five children. That same year, Venable joined the University of Georgia’s faculty and, in 1857, moved again to South Carolina College. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. In 1862, General Robert E. Lee chose Venable as one of his aides, and the two men remained close throughout the war. Following Lee’s surrender in 1865, Venable returned to the University of Virginia as a lieutenant colonel. He spent the next 31 years on the university’s mathematics faculty, serving as its chair from 1870 to 1873 and 1886 to 1888. Furthermore, Venable wrote textbooks for the university when they were unavailable during Reconstruction, helped establish its observatory, and was instrumental in procuring funds for seven new science departments. After Margaret’s death in 1874, he married Mary Southall Brown, widow of Colonel J. Thompson Brown, with whom he had a son.

Source:

“ Charles Scott Venable .” Leander McCormick Observatory Museum. University of Virginia Department of Astronomy. Accessed March 10, 2011.

From the guide to the Venable, Charles Scott, Papers 1927., 1851-1913, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

Born on his father Nathaniel Venable's estate in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Charles Scott Venable (1827-1900) attended Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Virginia before becoming a mathematics professor at Hampden-Sydney.

In 1856, he married Margaret Cantey McDowell, daughter of Governor James McDowell, and the couple eventually had five children. That same year, Venable joined the University of Georgia's faculty and, in 1857, moved again to South Carolina College. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. In 1862, General Robert E. Lee chose Venable as one of his aides, and the two men remained close throughout the war. Following Lee's surrender in 1865, Venable returned to the University of Virginia as a lieutenant colonel. He spent the next 31 years on the university's mathematics faculty, serving as its chair from 1870 to 1873 and 1886 to 1888. Furthermore, Venable wrote textbooks for the university when they were unavailable during Reconstruction, helped establish its observatory, and was instrumental in procuring funds for seven new science departments. After Margaret's death in 1874, he married Mary Southall Brown, widow of Colonel J. Thompson Brown, with whom he had a son.

Source:

"Charles Scott Venable." Leander McCormick Observatory Museum. University of Virginia Department of Astronomy. Accessed March 10, 2011.

From the description of Venable, Charles Scott, Papers, 1851-1913 (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 774397461