Oliver Carder was born around 1818 in Virginia. He lived in Taylor County, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), and he worked as a farmer. By 1850, he owned $175 of real estate. By 1870, he owned $1,100 of real estate and $1,200 of personal property. He apparently never married, and he lived with his sister Martha until at least 1880. He died in 1906.