Foreword

John Oliver was born in 1865, Dora Tovrea was born in 1875. I am their grandson, John Oliver II, born in 1944, eight months after the reverend passed away.

These writings and photographs were in the possession of my sister, Joan Oliver Magruder, until her death in 2016. They are the personal reflections of the Reverend and Mrs. Oliver except for the third chapter, written by Joan, based on her own research. With the exception of Dora Tovrea Oliver's lengthy typewritten "Autobiographical Sketch", the letters and essays below were written in graceful cursive. I have faithfully decoded, as best I could, and transcribed their handwritten descriptions of their lives, their times and their feelings.

For all the descendants of John Oliver and Dora Lulu Tovrea; and their children:
Wesley, Mary, Arthur and Alice: The Words of Your Grandparents.






Copyright© 2018 John Oliver II