Father: Asbury Crenshaw
Mother: Ann Coleman Pemberton
1844 - M.D. degree - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (from: VA; thesis: "Spermatorrhea" [considered unhealthy in the 19th Century])
1850 - Practiced medicine, Charles City Co, VA
1854 - Applied for a U. S. Passport to travel to Europe
1856 - With Dr. James Brown McCaw translated Pajot's "Obstetric Tables"
1860 - Practiced medicine, Richmond, Henrico Co, VA
05/04/1861 - Enrolled as Surgeon, 26th VA Volunteers [Col. R. E. Colston's - later, 16th VA Infantry], Norfolk, VA
05/08/1861 - "On duty at Navy Yard" [?Norfolk, VA, or Richmond, VA, as Confederate States Army Surgeon]
07/01/1861 - Appointed Surgeon, Provisional Army of the Confederate States
07/01/1861 - Surgeon, 16th VA Infantry
08/21/1861 - "Surgeon O. A. Crenshaw, of the Sixteenth Regiment Virginia Volunteers, is assigned to duty in the general hospital, Richmond, Va., and will report accordingly." [S.O. 130/17]
09/18/1861 - Medical Director, Gen. H. A. Wise's Brigade
09/18/1861 - In a letter from White Sulphur Springs [VA] to Gen. Henry A. Wise, Commanding Brigade, Dr. Crenshaw writes, "In obedience to orders from the Secretary of War through the Surgeon Genl, I arrived here today and relieved [?Dr.] Phillips as Medical Director in Charge of the Hospital. I would respectfully suggest that Dr. Phillips or some one else shall be placed here with a command of not less than 60 men in command of the post as it will be impossible to enforce proper discipline otherwise. Respectfully [your obedient servant] O. A. Crenshaw [,] Medical Director & Surgeon of Hospital"
11/28/1861 - Medical Director, White Sulphur Springs, VA
12/19/1861 - "Surgeon C. A. [O. A.] Crenshaw, Provisional Army Confederate States, is relieved from duty at the White Sulphur Springs, Va., and will report at once to the Surgeon-General, in this city." [S.O. 270/14]
12/20/1861 - Surgeon-in-charge, Royster's Factory Hospital, Richmond, VA
01/01/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, Royster's Factory Hospital, Richmond, VA
02/24/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, Royster's Factory Hospital, Richmond, VA
03/03/1862 - On duty examining recruits and substitutes [Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, p. 3]
05/23/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, Gen. Hospital #20, Richmond, VA [Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, p. 3]
06/07/1862 - "Surgeon O. A. Crenshaw is relieved from his present duty, and is assigned to the charge of Seabrook's Hospital, in this city" [S.O. 131/20]
06/27/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, Union Hotel Hospital, [Gen. Hospital #10] Richmond, VA [Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, p. 2, c. 5]
07/03/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, United States Hotel Hospital [Gen. Hospital #10 - Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA]
07/09/1862 - Advertised for stock stolen in Charles City Co., VA [Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, p.2]
07/19/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, Gen. Hospital #10, Richmond, VA [Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, p. 2]
09/28/1862 - Surgeon, Gen. Hospital #10, Richmond, VA
10/07/1862 - Surgeon-in-charge, Gen. Hospital #10, Richmond, VA
11/25/1862 - Surgeon Crenshaw writing from Gen. Hospital #10, "In reply to your enquiry as to whether I have appeared before an examining board, and if so with what result, I have to state that I have appeared before an examining board and that the report of my examination was favorable" This letter was presumably written to the Surgeon General or the Medical Director, Richmond, VA
12/00/1862 - Surgeon, Gen. Hospital #10, Richmond, VA
01/00/1863 - Surgeon, Gen. Hospital #10, Richmond, VA
02/17/1863 - Assigned [S. O. ? ]
03/00/1863 - As Surgeon, treated 1st Lt. John H. Barlow, 1st Lt., Co. C, 32nd VA Infantry [?at Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, VA]
04/04/1863 - Confirmed as Surgeon from VA by the Confederate States Senate
06/17/1863 - Advertised for white male nurses [Richmond Dispatch, Richmond, VA, p. 2]
07/00/1863 - Surgeon-in-charge, Gen. Hospital #10, Richmond, VA
09/07/1863 - Assigned to "a Board for the purpose of executing the requirements of the circular of Aug. 27 from the Surg. Gen. Office."
10/18/1863 - "Will ... accompany the Committee of Citizens for the Relief of the Wounded from the Army of N. VA as operator."
10/23/1863 - Granted 25 days leave of absence by the Medical Director's Office, Richmond, VA [S.O. 282 - Medical Director's Office]
12/12/1863 - "In addition to his present duties will relieve Surgeon H. T. Barton as Senr. Surg., Exam. Bd, M[edical] D[irector's] O[ffice]"
00/00/1864 - Senior Surgeon, Receiving and Wayside Hospital (Gen. Hospital #9, Richmond, VA)
05/15/1864 - "Will report . . . to the Med. Director, Drewry's Bluff for temporary duty with the Reserve Surgical Corps"
05/21/1864 - "Will report to Med. Director [Samuel] Choppin to relieve Surgeon Hancock"
06/02/1864 - "Will report to Surgeon A.Y. P. Garnett as Senior Surgeon of the Medical Examining Board for officers in Private Quarters."
09/30/1864 - Acting as Senior Surgeon, Medical Board, Private Quarters, Richmond, VA
10/18/1864 - "Will ... examine convalescent officers and men of the 1st Invalid Battalion (on duty at Belle Isle and in the city) and will report all who are able to perform field duty to Major G. Andrews AAG"
12/27/1864 - "The following-named persons (disinterested slave-holders) are hereby appointed, under Paragraph VIII, General Orders No. 86, Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, current series, a board for the appraisement and ascertainment of hire of slaves already impressed under act of 17th February, 1864, and now in service with the Army of Northern Virginia without previous appraisement or ascertainment of hire, or who may hereafter be impressed or received without appraisement or special contract: Mr. Turnbull, presiding justice of Dinwiddie County, Va.; Major E. B. Branch, quartermaster; Captain A. W. Dunn, assistant quartermaster. Surgeon O. A. Crenshaw, Provisional Army Confederate States, will act with the board and make a careful medical examination of each negro before appraisement. The members of the board and Surgeon Crenshaw will report to Brigadier-General W. H. Stevens, chief engineer Army Northern Virginia, who will designate the time and place of the assembling of the board. By command of the Secretary of War: Jno. Withers, Assistant Adjutant-General" [S.O. 306/10]
01/04/1865 - Hirer of Slaves [S.O. 2/2]
03/31/1865 - "Will relieve Surgeon A.J. Semmes as Senr. Surgn., Medical Examining Board at Stuart and Louisiana Hospitals [Richmond, VA]
~1865 - Married Susan Watson Morris [she died in 1933]
1870 - Practiced medicine, Monroe Ward, Richmond, VA [indexed in the 1870 U. S. Census as Otto Crenshaw]
06/00/1871 - Judge, Virginia State Fair [Southern Planter, June, 1871]
1874 - Practiced medicine, Richmond, VA
1877 - President, Richmond Academy of Medicine
1880 - Practiced medicine, Richmond, VA
11/15/1884 - Member, Virginia State Board of Medical Examiners, Richmond, VA
1886,1890,1900,1893,1903 - Practiced medicine, Richmond, VA
10/22/1906 - Died at his home "after an illness of only one week", Richmond, VA

Note: Dr. Crenshaw may have served for a short time at Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, VA, but this service does not appear in his Compiled Service Record nor on the "Chimborazo Employee List" assembled from documents at the National Archives by National Park Service (NPS) employees and maintained at the present NPS Chimborazo Park Headquarters.

Note: Dr. Crenshaw may have served for a short time at Chimborazo Hospital,
Richmond, VA, but this service does not appear in his Compiled Service Record.

George Seitz, Bobby Krick, and Bob Krick provided input to this biography.

This biographical sketch is from:
Hambrecht, F.T. & Koste, J.L., Biographical
register of physicians who served the
Confederacy in a medical capacity.
04/15/2010. Updated 12/08/2014.
Unpublished database.