Caldwell County, Kentucky, farmer and soldier. Kentucky native. Son of Samuel Lester and Cinderella Lester. Resident in Caldwell County, Kentucky, in 1850. Household owned six enslaved persons in Caldwell County in 1850. Farmer in Long Pond in 1860. Employed James Lester as a farm laborer in Long Pond in 1860. Owned one enslaved person in Long Pond in 1860. Served in the 8th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment (C.S.A.) as a private from September 26, 1861, to July 31, 1862. Captured at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, on February 16, 1862. Captured and paroled at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Reported as deserted on July 5, 1863. Imprisoned at the Military Prison in Louisville, Kentucky, from August 27, 1863, to September 1, 1863. Imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio, from September 2, 1863, to January 22, 1864. Imprisoned at Rock Island, Illinois, from January 24, 1864, to January 25, 1864. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 24, 1864.