Documented History
Lester Otis Oliver was born 13 April 1909 according to the U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current. Also, the 1910 Census lists him as 1 year old and there are several Ancestry Trees that list this birthdate as well. He was born in Scottsville, Allen, Kentucky. He is the first person I am researching from the Oliver family tree.
LOO12 1910 US Federal Census
In 1910, Lester was 1 year old and lived in Allen, Kentucky with his parents, Charles S. Oliver and Ethel C. Oliver, his sister Hauty B. Oliver and his brother Homer J. Oliver according to the 1920 Census. His dad was 35 years old, his mom was 22 years old, his sister was 6, and his brother was 3. His dad was a farmer at the time. The Census record lists Charles as Chas and Lester L as Luster O. I’ve found that there are a lot of misspelled names on Census records. The dates, ages, and co-habitants match up though.
LOO12 1920 US Federal Census
In 1920, Lester lived on a farm on Cemetery Pike, in Warren County, Kentucky with his parents and siblings according to the 1920 Census. Charles was 44 years old and owned the farm. Ethel was 31 years old. Lester’s older sister Hautie was 16 and married to Hampton Goodrum who was 38 years old at the time. Lester’s older brother Homer was 13 and Lester was 10. His younger brother Leroy was 8 years old. All were born in Kentucky. Charles father was born in Virginia. Charles was a farmer. Hampton Goodrum was a Laborer on the farm.
LOO12 1929 US City Directories
In 1929, Lester lived at 406 East Morris, Indianapolis, Indiana according to U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989. He was a glove cutter at the time. His youngest brother Leroy lived with him and worked as a laborer. Lester was 20 years old at the time. Leroy was 17.
Marriage
Lester married Flora Louise Black on 4 January 1930 according to the Marion County, Indiana, Marriage Index, 1925-2012.
LOO12 1930 US Federal Census
In 1930, Lester lived on East 11th Street in Marion County, Indiana with his wife Flora Black, according to the 1930 Census. They rented this house. Lester was 22 and Flora was 19 years old. Flora was born in Indiana. Lester was a machine operator at a glove company.
Lester and Flora had a baby girl around 1931 that they named Glory. I have not yet found a birth certificate for her.
FLB13 1932 Flo and Glory
Lester and Flora had another baby girl on 28 September 1932 in Indianapolis, Indiana. They named her Sylvia Faye. Her birth certificate says Vera Fay. I need to do some additional research to find out why the variances in the name.
FLB13 1934 Gloria and Faye
Lester and Flora had a baby boy on 4 February 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana. They named him Lloyd Lester Oliver.
FLB13 1937 Lloyd
Lester and Flora lived on 806 Iowa, Indianapolis, Indiana in 1934 according to U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989. Lester was a Laborer. Lester’s youngest brother Leroy and sister-in-law Retha also lived with them. Leroy was a laborer as well. Lester was 25, Flora was 24, and Leroy was 22 years old.
LOO12 1934 US City Directories
Lester and Flora lived at 2730 North Dearborn, Indianapolis, Indiana in 1936 according to U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989. Lester was a leather cutter at this time.
LOO12 1936 US City Directories
Lester signed up for the World War II Draft on 16 October 1940. Interestingly, he spelled his middle name Odas instead of Otis. You can see on the draft card where he wrote it correctly first and then erased it and wrote it incorrectly. Lester was 31 years old at the time and was born on 13 April 1909 in Allan County, Kentucky. He weighed 138 pounds and had brown hair and brown eyes. He was 5 foot 6 inches tall. His wife, Flora Louise Oliver, was listed as his next of kin.
Lester lived on East 23rd Street in Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana according to the 1940 Census. He lived with his wife, Flora, and their three children. Lester was 30 and Flora was 29 years old. Their children were Gloria age 8, Silvia age 7, and Lloyd age 6. Lester was born in Kentucky, the rest were born in Indiana. Lester was a glove cutter in a glove factory at this time. He had worked 40 weeks in 1939 and his income was $960 at this time.
LOO12 1940 US Federal Census
In 1942, Lester lived at 2536 Guilford Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Flora according to U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989.
LOO12 1942 US City Directories
On 30 June 1945, Lester married Ruth Monts in Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana according to Marion County, Indiana, Marriage Index, 1925-2012.
In an effort to be transparent to our visitors, please understand that we may get small commissions from purchases made through the links in this article. Please review our full disclosure at the very bottom left side of this page.
At some point, Lester lived at Rr05 Box 236, Sparta, TN, 38583, per U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2. Unfortunately, there is no date on this record. But I do have pictures of Lester in Tennessee with his grandkids in the mid to late 70’s.
Lester lived at 236 Rural Route 5 in Sparta, Tennessee according to the U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 2. No date is specified for this residence. I believe this to be in the mid 1970’s based on pictures of Mom and her siblings visiting him in Tennessee right after my brother was born in 1974.
Death
Lester died in January 1981 according to the U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current. His social security number was 303-03-4604 and was issued from Indiana before 1951. He last lived at 46064 Pendleton, Madison, Indiana.
LOO12 1981 Death Certificate
According to Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011, he passed away on 26 January 1981, at Hancock Memorial Hospital in Greenfield, Hancock County, Indiana, due to Mesenteric Thrombosis which onset 6 hours earlier. He had suffered from Generalized Arteriosclerosis for several years and had a recent major cerebrovascular accident and congestive heart failure. His wife, Ruth M. Oliver, was the informant.
LOO12 1981 US Find A Grave Index 1600s-Current
The Death Certificate says he was buried at Washington Park East in Indianapolis, Indiana which is different from Find A Grave. His parents are listed as Charles Oliver and Ethel Tabor. He was 71 years old and a retired grid mechanic with Radio Corp. of America.
LOO12 1981 Headstone
Lester is resting at Peeled Chestnut Cemetery, White County, Tennessee per U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current. The birth and death dates on his headstone match that of his death certificate.
So I was able to find many different places that Lester lived. I didn’t find a whole lot more. I will continue to update this page as I find additional information. In the meantime, I’d love to hear stories from you if you happened to know him or are related to him. Please don’t hesitate to leave a story or three in the Comments section below. In the meantime, be sure to check out Lester’s Gallery to view some of his cherished memories.
That’s all for now,
~Kris
