Joseph Cleaver was born in 1833, the son of Joseph and Catherine Cleaver of Port Penn, Delaware. He attended Delaware College in Newark in the mid 1850s. After leaving the college, he began working on his family farm near Port Penn, which was left to him after his father’s death. He married Josephine E. Reybold (September 6, 1838–February 23, 1916) with whom he had four children. Late in his life, Cleaver moved to Delaware City, Delaware, where he died on November 13, 1909. Cleaver is buried at St. Georges, Delaware.
Cleaver, Joseph.The diary of a student at Delaware College, August, 1853, to November, 1854. Edited by William Ditto Lewis. Baltimore: J.H. Furst Co., 1951. Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards, 1888. Additional biographical information also derived from the collection.
From the guide to the Diary of Joseph Cleaver, Jr., kept at Delaware College, 1853 August 31–1854 November 21, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)
