Rev. Callaway was a 3rd great-grandson of American immigrant Peter Callaway. His Callaway ancestry:

Peter Callaway = Elizabeth Johnson
John Callaway = Mary Gould
Edward Callaway = Elizabeth
John Callaway = Bethany Arnold
Rev. Enoch Callaway = Martha "Patsy" Reeves
Rev. Abner Reeves Callaway

REV. ABNER REEVES CALLAWAY married (1) SARAH JANE HOWARD October 15, 1852 in Oglethorpe Co., GA, daughter of ROBERT HOWARD and MARY GLENN. She was born December 28, 1835 in Oglethorpe Co., GA, and died September 10, 1878 in La Grange, Troup Co., GA. He married (2) MARY WILBOURN "WILLIE" ELY June 24, 1879 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA, daughter of WILBORN ELY and MARY NEWSOM. She was born August 10, 1842 in Muscogee Co., GA, and died March 27, 1915 in La Grange, Troup. Co., GA.

Children of ABNER CALLAWAY and SARAH HOWARD are:
i. DR. ENOCH CALLAWAY, M.D., R.Ph. b. July 26, 1853, Greenville, Camden Co., GA; d. September 21, 1901, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; m. FRANCES BANKS, December 24, 1879, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; b. December 22, 1858, Griffin, Spalding Co., GA; d. October 19, 1941, La Grange, Troup Co., GA.

ii. MARY GLENN CALLAWAY, b. March 6, 1855, Greenville, Camden Co., GA; d. September 22, 1907, La Grange, Troup. Co., GA; m. WILLIAM WYLIE ARNOLD, December 16, 1875, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; b. April 16, 1853, Thomaston, Upson Co., GA; d. May 2, 1931, Knoxville, Knox Co., TN.

iii. HOWARD ROBERT CALLAWAY, b. January 16, 1857, Meriwether Co., GA; d. May 4, 1927, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; m. LULA H. CARY, March 8, 1883; b. May 30, 1861, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; d. July 16, 1922, La Grange, Troup Co., GA.

iv. LUCY B. CALLAWAY, b. April 16, 1859, Meriwether Co., GA; d. April 16, 1859.

v. ABBIE R. CALLAWAY, b. October 28, 1860, Meriwether Co., GA; d. September 1, 1865.

vi. WILLIAM B. CALLAWAY, b. February 9, 1863; d. February 25, 1863.

vii. POPE FRANCIS CALLAWAY, b. October 13, 1865; d. July 31, 1923, La Grange, Troup Co., GA.

viii. ABNER REEVES CALLAWAY, JR., b. April 1, 1868; d. June 12, 1869.

ix. FULLER EARLE CALLAWAY, FOUNDER OF CALLAWAY MILLS, b. July 15, 1870, La Grange, Troup. Co., GA; d. February 12, 1928, "Hills and Dales", La Grange, Troup. Co., GA; m. IDA JANE CASON, April 16, 1891, Jewell, Taliaferro Co., GA; b. July 16, 1872, Jewell, Taliaferro Co., GA; d. April 10, 1936, "Hills and Dales", La Grange, Troup Co., GA.


Children of ABNER CALLAWAY and MARY ELY are:
x. ELY REEVES CALLAWAY, b. June 5, 1880, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; d. November 5, 1956, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; m. LOULA B. WALKER, October 21, 1908, Georgia; b. March 23, 1884, Madison, Morgan Co., GA; d. March 25, 1967, La Grange, Troup Co., GA.

xi. ABBIE CALLAWAY, b. March 18, 1883, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; d. September 5, 1974, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; m. LIVY DUNCAN ALLEN, June 21, 1906, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; b. March 5, 1869, of Boeuf, Franklin Co., MO; d. September 21, 1965, La Grange, Troup Co., GA.

xii. HARRY WELBOURNE CALLAWAY, b. August 15, 1884, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; d. December 30, 1950, La Grange, Troup Co., GA; m. LENA HAND, June 9, 1915; b. October 19, 1893, Senoia, Coweta Co., GA; d. January 9, 1984, Fulton Co., GA.
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ABNER R. CALLAWAY
from: History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia: With Biographical Compendium and Portrait Gallery of Baptist Ministers and Other Georgia Baptists by Samuel Boykin (Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1976 Reprint of 1881 ed.), pp. 87-88:

ABNER R. CALLAWAY was born in Wilkes county, Georgia, near Sardis church, on the 6th of February, 1832. His parents were Rev. Enoch Callaway and Martha Callaway - the former a vigorous and active worker in the cause of religion, and distinguished as a disciplinarian, both in the church and in his family.
At the early age of ten he was converted and joined Sardis church, being baptized by his own father; and at sixteen, feeling it to be his duty, he first began to exercise his ministerial gifts in public. One of his earliest public efforts, however, in his 19th year, was a most mortifying failure. He had accepted an invitation to preach, had written out his sermon and committed it to memory, and had ascended the pulpit, accompanied by his father, but during the delivery of his sermon memory failed him; words and ideas all vanished. Turing to his father, who sat behind in the pulpit, he said: "Father, you must preach - I can't." Rising slowly from his seat, the venerable man of god took the text on which his college boy had attempted to preach, and delivered a most edifying sermon. Deeply mortified, the son son immediately decided that he had mistake his vocation, and the very next day began reading medicine. some months afterwards he returned home, while a revival was in progress, and as the deacons insisted that he should preach, he finally consented, taking for his text 2 Timothy, 1:10. The result of that sermon was the conversion of six souls, the return of the young preacher to his first love, and, consequently, his ordination in 1853.
He had excellent educational opportunities at Centerville and Washington, Georgia, and at Mercer University, which institution he attended three years, 1850-1-2. Settling in the western part of the State, he, during a long series of years, as pastor served various churches, including those at Greenville, Rock Mount, Hogansville and Long Cane, and gradually rose to distinction among his brethren. As Moderator of the Western Association he presided with dignity and ability, and to the satisfaction of all. In 1875 he was elected Professor of Natural Science and Belles Lettres, in the Female College at La Grange, Troup. Co., GA, a position he fills with great ability.
He has been married twice - the first time to Miss Sarah J. Howard, of Lexington, Georgia, in 1852; and the second time to Miss Mary W. Ely, of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1879. By the former marriage he had five children.
His personal appearance is athletic and commanding. He has a full, vigorous form; an open, manly face; broad, high brow, with blue eyes and dark hair and urbane address; has a flow of spirits which sometimes borders on levity; is polite, kind and generous; and his hospitality is so noted that his well-appointed interests he has been unusually successful, and in business qualifications he has few superiors.
As a minister of Christ he has labored diligently, and many souls have been given him for his hire. As a Baptist he has sustained well the reputation of a distinguished family; and the records of our denominational assemblies, from General Meetings to the Southern Baptist Convention, bear witness to the creditable performance of his duty, wherever the suffrages of his brethren have sent him. for several years the church at Long Cane was, in point of benevolence in its own work and in the general enterprises of the denomination, the banner church of the Western Association, a result secured by his labors as pastor, in co-operation with two of the best deacons in Georgia - M. H. Hart and B. T. Cameron. By intense study and application, by drinking deeply at the fount of inspiration, and by unremitting personal labors, Mr. Callaway has laid the foundations of his life-work broad and deep. The past and present both attest his great worth as a man, an educator and a Christian; and , doubtless, the future will crown his efforts to disseminate natural and revealed truth with eminent success.
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ABNER REEVES CALLAWAY 1832-1893
from: Callaway Baptist Preachers 1789 - 1953 by Timothy Walton Callaway, D.D., (LaGrange, GA: Fuller E. Callaway Foundation, 1953), pp. 28-35:

ABNER REEVES, third son of Rev. Enoch and Martha Callaway, was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, Feb. 6th, 1832. His father was a vigorous and active worker in the Kingdom, a man distinguished for deep. piety, high integrity, tender sympathy and extraordinary executive ability. His mother, a fine type of Southern woman hood, was noted for strength and decision of character, firmness of purpose and tenderness of heart that gave her influence and power rarely excelled in a well ordered home. Richly endowed with mental and moral qualities from both parents, the subject of this memorial grew up. in an atmosphere of domestic purity and piety, of Christian fidelity and loving discipline. At the early age of ten he was happily converted and offered himself a candidate for baptism in Sardis Church of which his father was pastor and by whom he was baptized. His impressions to preach came in his early teens and he yielded promptly and began to exercise his ministerial gifts in his home church when but sixteen years old, under the wise direction of a devoted father so capable of "expounding into him the way of God more accurately," Thus his life work was determined though briefly interrupted in his own mind by an experience that truly humbled him. He had accepted an invitation to preach in his father's pulpit; he carefully prepared and thoroughly memorized his sermon for the occasion. his venerable father was seated behind him in one of these old fashioned boxed-up. pulpits from which there was no ready escape. The young preacher of 19 began his discourse with grace and ease, when suddenly and unaccountably, his sermon memory failed him; words and phrases, thoughts and ideas all vanished. Turning to his father he said: "Father, you must preach, I can't." The father responded, using the text on which his college boy had failed and greatly edified and eagerly waiting congregation. Deeply mortified, the young man hastily decided that he had missed his calling and the very next day began to read medicine. Some months elapsed when returning home during a revival, the deacons urged him to preach and he finally consented, using 2. Tim. 1:10, as a text. The immediate result of that sermon was the conversion of six souls, the return of the young preacher to his first love, and consequently, his ordination the the summer of 1853.
His educational opportunities were excellent for his day, attending a select school at Centerville, near his home in Washington, Ga., and later at Mercer University during the sessions of 1850-1-2. He married Miss Sara J. Howard, of Lexington, Ga., a bright, beautiful young girl of 16, October 19th, 1852, thus ending a brilliant college career after completing his Junior year. Surely no Jacob ever more truly found his Rachel than did this ambitious young preacher find the companion of his early life in the person of Miss Howard, a young women of remarkable gifts, tactful, resourceful, of clear business insight and full of energy. She was "a helpmeet" indeed and "looked well to the ways of her household." This young couple settled in the western part of the state, where Mr. Callaway taught school, farmed, and for years served most acceptably churches in the Western Association, including Greeneville, Rocky Mount, Friendship, Wehadkee, Antioch, Bethlehem, Long Cane, West Point and Hogansville. In about 1860, he established the "Hyperion High School," about two miles from Greeneville. This was one of the first large boarding high schools in Western Georgia and commanded a liberal patronage. Then followed that dark and vexed era when the South he loved so well was plunged into a terrible war. At such time when prophets who could speak a sure and steadfast word were none too plentiful, how timely were his counsels and exhortations, his inspirations and leadership! He was palpably built for these engagements. The serious undertakings which tax our utmost energies aroused his loyalty and courage and drove him to the defense and establishment of causes he prized dear as life. In nothing did he excell so much as in themes derived from Christian patriotism. Here he rose superior to every embarrassment. Those who were laggard in their civic devotion excited his righteous indignation, but he graciously accepted and bravely met the issues forced upon his section by Lee's surrender, April, 1865. In the winter of 1865-6, he moved to LaGrange, Ga., where he gave himself unreservedly to rebuilding the fortunes of his fellows and community wasted by war, to the care of his growing family, his large farming interest and pastorate of churches. His success in farming, his popularity as pastor and preacher, were so pronounced that he soon came to be recognized as one of the foremost and most influential citizens of his city and community. His services were in demand from all quarters and in almost every sphere of human activity, and his business qualifications were superb. given to hospitality, and with all a flow of spirits almost bordering on levity, his well-appointed home was the happy resort of neighbors, brethren and friends. He was a man of large mould. His personal appearance was athletic and commanding. His full, vigorous form, his open, manly face, his broad, high brow, his clear blue eyes, made him prominent in any assemblage of his fellows. Cordial and candid in his social habits, affable and urbane in address, he was a welcomed unit in any social group. By intense study and application, and by unremitting personal labor, Mr. Callaway laid the foundations of his life work broad and deep, and built thereon a character which stamped him as a man of worth, an educator and Christian minster of no small proportions. "As a Baptist he has sustained well the reputation of a distinguished family; and the records of our denominational assemblies, from General Meetings to the Southern Baptist Convention, bear witness to the creditable performance of his duty wherever the suffrage of his brethren have sent him."
He was ever the advocate and friend of education. In 1875 he was elected Professor of natural Science and Belle-Letters in the Southern Female College at LaGrange, Ga., a position he filled with notable success for many years. When the institution with which he was connected need funds, he gave himself to its call, heading the list with perhaps the most liberal contribution of all $500.00 in cash. He was a born teacher. There is a marked difference in minds which are capable of influencing other minds. some have no natural inclination for this; they spread over earth and air with an inclusive range, but do no make their efforts valuable for any but themselves. It is just the reverse with another class. In them the very business of expansion takes in their fellow man. They think and feel and imagine with the rest of us in full view. No sooner have they grasped any particular thought then they want to equip. it and send it abroad and observe how it does its work in other minds and lives. Quick and generous in their estimates and instincts, their processes are an open book which he who runs may read. Mr. Callaway had this type of mind. When the naked truth was at issue, reserve, casuistry, concealment, were not in him. He thought aloud when he spoke, that which he had pondered in the quiet of his study he proclaimed on the house tops. His was an open, frank and generous nature and never failed to win the confidence and command the admiration and affection of his pupils.
But his greatest power was in the pulpit. There was a studied absence of professional phraseology in his utterances. Each telling phrase had been reminted in the crucibles of his fervent mind, and he concentrated his remarkable gifts of communication on the freshness and suitability of his word. Yet there was no artificiality nor love of novelty for novelty's sake. On the contrary, a divine fire breathed in the man; a passionate allegiance to justice and to mercy rang out in what he said. He played very skillfully upon the ethical emotions of his auditors, moving them to higher and practical heights of God by living. His fearlessness, his grace, his modulated voice, his general charm, enabled him to navigate many an unchartered sea without the disasters which are apt to fall upon less accomplished explorers. There is a style of oratory which never moves beyond the most elementary stages of thought and address. But there is an oratory which calls to you as "deep. calleth unto deep" and travels with an electric-like shock from soul to soul again. Of that oratory Mr. Callaway was at times a master, and when its moods were upon him the banners of God's house fluttered in the winds of triumph. His ministerial life was upheld and buttressed by numerous and choice friendships. In Western Georgia and particularly throughout the bounds of the Western Association over which he presided again and again with dignity and ability, and beyond the borders of the state and over the territory of the Southern Baptist Convention, men and women cherished and honored him for his endearing virtues and for his unselfish labors.
But the tragedy of his life came as he reached the summit of his manhood and his ministry, when in September, 1878, the wife of his youth, the companion of his labors, the sharer of his fortunes, the loyal counsellor of his life, "fell on sleep." He was left almost like a ship. without a pilot, and with the care of his two youngest, Pope F. and Fuller E., about 12 and 9 years respectively. The three oldest, Dr. Enoch, Mary G., (Mrs. W. W. Arnold), and Howard R., had gone from the paternal home. The throbbings and travailings of his sensitive nature could only find rest and control under the torch of omnific wisdom and love. He bore his bereavement and loneliness with becoming christian resignation and fortitude until the summer of 1879, when he was happily married to Miss Mary W. Ely, of Atlanta, Ga. To this union three children were given, two sons, Ely and Harry, and one daughter, Abbie, now Mrs. L. D. Allen of LaGrange, Ga.