Delilah Reiber was born to Phillip and Elizabeth (Miller) Hartzell on February 6, 1816, in Covington, Ohio. She married Henry Reiber on April 7, 1840, in Miami County. Henry was the son of Jacob and Catherine Reiber. The Reiber family came to Newton Township from Pennsylvania in 1835.
Delilah and Henry had at least 10 children. They include: Phillip born in 1841; Jacob born in 1842; Susannah born in 1844; Benjamin born in 1845; Joseph born in 1845; Rebecca born in 1847; Jemimah born in 1849; Malinda born in 1853; William born in 1854; and Sarah born in 1856.
Her first son, Phillip, enlisted in Co. G, Ohio 110th Infantry on May 5, 1864. He was wounded and captured in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia. He was taken to Andersonville Prison, which was a notoriously cruel rebel prison. He died from scurvy on October 1, 1864 and is buried in the Andersonville National Cemetery in Macon County, Georgia. His name is listed on the East side of the Monument in Pleasant Hill.
Her second son, Jacob enlisted in Co. G., Ohio 147th Infantry on May 2, 1864. He died of Diphtheria at Fort Marcy Hospital in Virginia on July 3, 1864. His body was taken to Sugar Grove Cemetery for burial.
Her third son, Benjamin, enlisted in Co. G., Ohio 110th Infantry on February 4, 1864. He died of measles on February 29, 1864 in the Regimental Hospital at Brandy Station, Virginia. His body was also brought back to Sugar Grove Cemetery.
On October 17, 1886, her husband, Henry Reiber died and was buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery. He was 70 years old.
In 1895, the GAR chose Delilah to unveil the newly constructed Civil War Monument in Pleasant Hill. Mrs. Reiber stood on a wagon bed and pulled the cloth off the monument. The band played and the crowd cheered.
On August 18, 1901, Delilah Reiber died. Her body was taken to the Sugar Grove Cemetery for burial. She was 81 years old.
Descendants of her children Joseph and Rebecca can still be found living in Miami County.
