James R. Venable was born in Stone Mountain Georgia on January 15, 1901. He attended Lithonia High School with Nathan Bedford Forrest III, the grandson of Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest. Venable's ancestors arrived in the United States in 1683, and settled near Richmond, Virginia. His grandfather and namesake was the first guinea pig for surgeon Crawford Long, one of the pioneers of anesthesia. The elder Venable later purchased land in the city of Marthasville which was later renamed Atlanta. His name was given to Venable Street, near Georgia Tech. In 1870s, Venable's ancestors purchased Pine Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and Stone Mountain, a large rock inselberg, in order quarry to native granite. The Venable quarry operations produced, at one time, all of the curbstones for the city of Atlanta and outlying communities. Stone from the quarries was also used to build structures such as the Cuban Capitol Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.