Parler, Oscar B.
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Parler, Oscar B.
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Oscar B. Parler worked as a janitor at Davidson College during the Jim Crow eras from 1914 until his death in 1938.
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Oscar Blain Parler was born on November 28, 1884, in Denmark, South Carolina to Marion and Lucinda Parler. He was one of eleven children: two brothers and eight sisters. He grew up in Bamberg County, South Carolina. By the age of 16, he could read and write, and he attended school eight months out of the year. On November 11, 1918, Oscar married Lola Nevils in Barnwell County, South Carolina. They welcomed their first and only child, India, on September 1, 1915, who was named after Lola’s mother, India Nevils.
Prior to his Davidson employment, Oscar worked in cotton mills in South Carolina and hotels in Montreat, North Carolina. In 1914, he moved with his family to Davidson, North Carolina and became a janitor and “all around handyman” for the college. He is remembered for his 25 years of service to Davidson College.
Oscar was involved in many aspects of campus life. He worked primarily in the Rumple dormitory and Chambers Building. He chaperoned a field trip in November of 1937 to New York. Students described him as “loyal and trustworthy to the highest degree.” He even performed in the college’s Centennial Pageant and Masque program, where he acted as one of the many enslaved individuals that Maxwell Chambers, an enslaver and college benefactor, manumitted.
Oscar was a member and officer of the Gethsemane Baptist Church, where his funeral was held. Oscar passed away on January 6, 1938 from cardiovascular complications. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and mother. He is buried in the Parler Cemetery in Denmark, South Carolina.
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November 28, 1884
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January 6, 1938
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1900 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1930 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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“Colored Boys and Band Perform at Cambridge,” The Davidsonian, November 24, 1937, 3.
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Centennial Pageant and Masque program performance pamphlet, Centennial Pageant and Masque (1937) Davidsoniana file, Archives and Special Collections, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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“‘Oscar’ Passes After Sudden Heart Attack,” The Davidsonian, January 12, 1938, 3.
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Oscar Parler and Lola Nevils, September 11, 1918, South Carolina, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1907-2000, Ancestry.com
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Oscar B. Parler, Web: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, U.S. Death Index, 1992-2012, Ancestry.com.
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