From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Meaux, Fredrick C. and Bertha [Edythe Meaux Smith]

Fred Meaux was born around 1883 in Kentucky, and according to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, he was later living with his uncle, James Sausbury [or Sansbury], in Lebanon, KY. When he was 20 years old he married Bertha.

The following year Fred visited the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, enjoying the area so much that he and Bertha moved to St. Louis. In 1920, the family consisted of Fred, Bertha, and their five children.

Fred Meaux was a postal carrier, one of the first African Americans to deliver mail in St. Louis. He was also an active member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, serving as a delegate to the 33rd Convention held in St. Louis.

The Meaux's daughter, Edythe Meaux Smith (1917-2007), and her husband, Wayman Flynn Smith, Jr., were civil rights activists. Edythe, a journalist and educator, served as Deputy Director of the St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Agency, which handled discrimination complaints.

For more see "Fred C. Meaux" and "F. C. Meaux" in The Postal Record, vol. 33, issue 1 (January 1920) [available full-text at Google Books]; and "Edythe Smith educator, civil rights activist," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/21/2007, News section, p. A16.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Marion County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Lebanon, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Outside Kentucky Place Name

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NKAA Source: St. Louis post-dispatch (newspaper)

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Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Meaux, Fredrick C. and Bertha [Edythe Meaux Smith],” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed March 29, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2070.

Last modified: 2020-10-02 19:05:46