Luther Rice Venable

copied with permission from the website of Larry Wendt

Luther Rice Venable left Henry County, TN, in 1842, in 1842 with his family intending to "go west to Texas." When they got to Van Buren County, AR, they liked it so well they decided to settle there. Rice Venable had two grist mills and many horses. He was County Sheriff of Van Buren County for eight years (1850-1858) and County Representative for two years (1859-1860). He rode 70 miles (from Clinton to Little Rock) on horseback to attend legislative sessions in the Old State House... [which now houses the Museum of Arkansas History]. Rice Venable was a Lt. Col. In the Tenth Arkansas Regiment in the Civil War, accompanied General Sterling Price on his raid into Missouri, and was in the Battle of Shiloh.