From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Hughes, Harriet
(born: 1844 - died: 1901)Harriet Hughes was the wife of Thomas Hughes and the mother of seven children. In 1870, the family lived in Flat Rock (Bourbon County), KY, and later moved to Carlisle, KY.
Harriet was a mail carrier for the route between Carlisle and Jackstown, KY, near the Bourbon County line. She was one of the first African American women mail carriers in Kentucky and the United States, holding the highest-ranking government job among African American women in Carlisle and was well respected. There was a large attendance at her funeral: 63 carriages were in the procession to the cemetery.
For more see "A Remarkable Colored Woman," The Bourbon News, 5/03/1901, p. 2.