Lester Otis Oliver

🧬 The Life of Lester Otis Oliver (1909–1981)

From glove cutter to grid mechanic—one man’s quiet endurance through a century of change.

🌱 Born Into Kentucky Soil (1909)

Lester Otis Oliver took his first breath on April 13, 1909, in Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky. The second son of Charles S. Oliver and Ethel C. Tabor, he arrived into a household where the porch steps likely creaked, the days smelled of earth and work, and the future rolled out like a gravel road—unpredictable and unpaved.

By the 1910 census, Lester was just a year old, nestled between siblings: big sister Hauty B. (6) and older brother Homer J. (3). The family of five resided in Raleigh, Allen County, living humbly under a roof where kinship was the currency.

---

🏫 A Childhood in Motion (1920)

By 1920, the Olivers had moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and were living on Cemetery Pike—a name that feels straight out of Southern folklore. Lester, then 10, was attending school, able to read and write, sharing space with not just his parents and siblings but also his older sister’s husband, Hampton Goodrindt.

These early years, though quiet on the record, speak of a boy surrounded by family, rooted in tradition, and beginning to grow into his own name.

---

✂️ The Glove Cutter of East Morris Street (1929)

At just 20 years old, Lester had moved north to Indianapolis, Indiana. He was listed in the 1929 city directory as a glove cutter—a precise, weary trade that required steady hands and sharp focus. He lived at 406 East Morris with his younger brother Leroy, who worked as a laborer. Two brothers, fresh-faced and full of ambition, carving out space in a new city.

---

---

💍 Marriage & the Start of Family Life (1930s)

On January 4, 1930, Lester married Flora Louise Black. They began their life together on East 11th Street in Marion County. Lester was 22; Flora, just 19.

He worked machines in a glove factory, their days marked by the clatter of industry and the cries of infants not far behind.

In the early years of their marriage, the Olivers welcomed three children:

• Gloria, born around 1931

• Sylvia Faye (or Vera Fay, as her birth certificate states), born September 28, 1932

• Lloyd Lester, born February 4, 1934

---

✍️ The Draft Card & an Altered Name (1940–1942)

On October 16, 1940, Lester registered for the World War II draft. His card bears an odd, human hiccup—he first wrote “Otis,” then erased and replaced it with “Odas.” A small moment, perhaps, but one that hints at the quiet pressure of paperwork and identity in wartime America.

By 1940, the Olivers lived on East 23rd Street with all three children. Lester still worked as a glove cutter and brought home $960 for 40 weeks of labor in 1939—a sum that likely kept food on the table but left little room for leisure.

Two years later, they had moved again—this time to Guilford Avenue.

---

💔 A Turning Point: A Second Marriage (1945)

On June 30, 1945, Lester married Ruth Monts in Marion County. Though the story behind the transition from his first marriage to this second one remains quiet in the records, the change is clear.

---

🧼 The Working Man’s 1950s

By the time the 1950 Census rolled around, Lester was 40 years old, living on Randolph Street in Indianapolis with Ruth. He worked in the cleaning department at Aeme Sewer Co., putting in 48 hours a week and earning $227. He hadn’t served in the military, but he served in every other way a man could—in labor, loyalty, and routine.

He had only completed eight years of schooling, but his diligence made him the cornerstone of a stable household.

---

🏡 Later Years in Tennessee (1970s)

At some point, Lester moved south again—this time to Sparta, Tennessee. Records list him at Rural Route 5, Box 236. While the exact date is unclear, family photographs show him enjoying time with grandchildren in the 1970s. A quiet return to Southern soil, perhaps, after decades in the industrial grind of Indianapolis.

---

🕊 Final Chapter (1981)

Lester passed away on January 26, 1981, at Hancock Memorial Hospital in Greenfield, Indiana. He was 71 years old. The cause was Mesenteric Thrombosis, compounded by generalized arteriosclerosis and recent congestive heart failure. His wife, Ruth M. Oliver, served as the informant.

Though records once conflicted, it is now confirmed that he was laid to rest at Washington Park East in Indianapolis—far from his boyhood home on Cemetery Pike, but close to the life he built with his hands.

🧷 The Threads He Left Behind

He wasn’t a famous man. He wasn’t wealthy. But Lester Otis Oliver’s story is stitched into the fabric of every city directory, census line, and family snapshot that bears his name. A son of Kentucky. A worker in leather and labor. A father, twice a husband, and a man whose life mattered.

I could find many different places where Lester lived, but I didn’t see much more. I will continue to update this page as I find additional information.

💬 Have a story to share about Lester?
We’re piecing together the full portrait of his life, one memory at a time. If you knew Lester Otis Oliver—or have family tales, photos, or small recollections—please visit his Intro Page and leave a comment. Your voice helps bring his story to life.

That’s all for now,

~Kris

---

🕯️ Revisited by Bones: Lester Otis Oliver

Leather Cutter | Quiet Grit | Twice a Husband, Always a Father

Sometimes, the story doesn’t come with fireworks or scandal—but with a rhythm as steady as a heartbeat. Lester Otis Oliver’s life was just that: work-worn, modest, and marvelously human. Born in a quiet Kentucky town and carried through the lean years of glove factories and war drafts, his was a tale of resilience told not in headlines, but in city directories, calloused hands, and a house full of children.

His timeline is marked not just by moves across state lines, but by the echoes of laughter on East Morris Street, the routine of daily labor, and the enduring presence of family through every decade. We don’t yet have every detail—but oh, we’re listening. And so, we remember.