A remarkable man from an extraordinary family, Albert Ernest "A.E." Meyzeek made the most of his 101 years.

While attending Terre Haute High School, Albert studied law under attorneys Daniel Voorhees, John E. Lamb and William Mack.

A few months after he was proclaimed valedictorian of the class of 1884, he became a teacher in the public schools.

In 1887, he became the first principal of Terre Haute's 14th District School.

Those youthful accomplishments are even more impressive when Meyzeek's African-American heritage is considered.

John E. Meyzeek, Albert's father, was a tailor. He also was caretaker of the Gookins residence on Strawberry Hill, ultimately the site of Coates College for Women.

His mother, the former Mary Lott, was raised near Madison, Ind., where her father John Lott founded and maintained an important station on the Underground Railroad.

The Lotts were forced to abandon their Ohio River farm before the Civil War under threat of arrest, escaping in disguise to Chatham, Ontario, the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad, where they provided a haven for runaway slaves.

Though born in Toledo, Ohio, on Nov. 5, 1862, while his mother was visiting relatives, Albert spent his early years in Toronto. Throughout his childhood he was regaled by tales of adventure and danger his mother's family experienced.

Albert and his younger sisters, Ida Eudora and Myrtle Eveline, were introduced to books at an early age. In about 1878, the Meyzeek family located in Terre Haute.

During a newspaper interview at graduation ceremonies in June 1884, Meyzeek declared he intended to practice law. In ensuing months that goal altered, perhaps because opportunities for blacks in the legal profession were limited.

Other events might have affected his decision. On Dec. 27, 1883, Ida wed railroad employee David Harris in a ceremony at Strawberry Hill and, in 1884, sister Myrtle died. She was the first of the Meyzeek-Harris family to be buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Instead of studying law, A.E. enrolled at Indiana State Normal to secure a teacher's license and began lobbying for a "better colored school." When 14th District School (later called Lincoln) was founded, Meyzeek was a logical choice to be its principal.

Also a vigorous advocate for equal school facilities, John Meyzeek died in November 1891. Albert resided with his sister and brother-in-law at 1501 First Ave. until situating in Louisville in 1893. Located near the site of his grandparents' Underground Railroad endeavors, the Ohio River city offered young Meyzeek a formidable challenge.

After passing the examination to become a principal in Kentucky schools, A.E. was assigned to head the Booker T. Washington elementary school. A few years later, he became temporary principal of Louisville Central High School.

Disturbed by the inadequate reference material available at Central, Meyzeek repeatedly marched his black high school pupils to the public library and sought admittance. Though always refused, the Louisville Central Library Board eventually succumbed to his pressure and opened a branch library for African-Americans.

During his first year in Louisville, Meyzeek joined three other men to establish the first African-American branch of the YMCA. In 1905, he successfully spearheaded a crusade for a new branch facility, raising $2,250 in four weeks to meet the final deadline.

While most civil rights leaders were satisfied with "separate but equal" facilities, Meyzeek charted an independent course, asserting that segregation itself was a problem.

A persuasive speaker, Meyzeek usually demanded more than he expected to receive and accepted compromises to overcome barriers. However, he was persistent, returning each year with a heftier agenda. His firm intellectual approach persuaded his critics.

Meyzeek is credited with fostering the establishment of the unsegregated Indiana University campus at New Albany, Ind., designed to counter the "Kentucky Day Law," which prohibited blacks and whites from attending the same school. For one year, he was president of Kentucky State Normal School, now Kentucky State University.

Though his early college education was secured at Indiana State, Albert eventually earned degrees from Indiana University and Wilberforce University in Ohio.

During an era when few life insurance underwriters catered to African-Americans, Meyzeek organized Domestic Life and Accident Insurance Co. of Louisville. He also co-founded the Citizens Amusement Co. and the Palace Theater Co. of Louisville.

He was chairman of the Kentucky Urban League for 29 years, president of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association and a director of the Standard Building Loan Association, among many titles. As a result of his lifetime devotion to the Episcopal Church of Our Merciful Savior in Louisville, Albert was named "Vestryman Emeritus."

Though he retired from daily school duties in 1943, at age 80, Meyzeek stayed in the vanguard of civic advancement and was respectfully called "The Old War Horse of Kentucky." In 1948, at age 85, he was elected to the Kentucky State Board of Education, a position he had for six years and finally relinquished only because of failing health.

Albert died in Louisville on Dec. 18, 1963. Pearl E. (Hill) Meyzeek, his wife since 1896, predeceased him by only a few months. On April 3, 1967, Jackson Street Junior High School in Louisville was renamed Albert E. Meyzeek Junior High School.

The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights recently designated Meyzeek a "Great Black Kentuckian," joining Muhammed Ali, Whitney Young and Julian Bond.

David and Ida (Meyzeek) Harris raised four daughters to adulthood in Terre Haute. All of them graduated from Indiana State Normal. All became schoolteachers.

Evangeline Harris Merriweather, the youngest daughter and a 1912 graduate of Wiley High School, became an accomplished author, musician and operatic soprano.

Evangeline's literary achievements include "Stories for Little Tots," "The Family" and "A History of Eminent Negroes." She died in Terre Haute on Oct. 5, 1950, at age 57, predeceasing her mother by more than two years. Ida Harris died Feb. 9, 1953, at age 90.