The Family of Virgil M. Meeks
Orange M. Meeks was born July 11, 1878 in Durham, North Carolina; he died August 9, 1956 in Kansas City, Kansas.
Bryant Melton Meeks was born May 24, 1881 in Durham, North Carolina; he died February 14, 1944 in Saltillo, Arkansas.
An American Story
Virgil M. Meeks was born November 1840 in North Carolina, the offspring of an enslaved African-America mother (Makeza Justice) and slave-holding father, Albert Meeks. Virgil married Frances Odom on September 10, 1868 in Orange County, North Carolina. Frances was born September 1848 in North Carolina, the child of a Native-American and African-American slave, Jack and Mary Oldham.
On October 30, 1895 Virgil Meeks purchased 80 acres of land in Saltillo, Arkansas from the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railway Company. Another 40 acres was purchased in 1898 from the estate of a deceased neighbor.
The 1900 Census shows Frances giving birth to 12 children but only seven surviving. Virgil and Frances were married for 36 years, separated only upon Frances’ death on January 19, 1904. Virgil later married Samella Jackson on March 5, 1907; he died on May 31, 1915. Virgil and Frances are buried at the Meeks Cemetery in Saltillo.
Virgil M
eeks, Jr. was born November 9, 1884 in Raleigh, North Carolina; he died August 5, 1953 in Bakersfield, California.
Magg
ie M. Meeks was born April 20, 1885 in North Carolina; she died August 28, 1984 in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
