During the American Revolution, Reber is credited with paying supply tax in Heidelberg Township in 1779.
He also served as a Private in the Berks County Militia in Captain Sebastian Miller’s Company, commanded by Colonel Joseph Heister in 1781. Reber’s brother, Valentine, is also a DAR proven Patriot (#A209378). John Reber died on August 27, 1821, in Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The Reber Family owned hundreds of acres in the Tulpehocken/Blue Marsh area in Berks County that many generations farmed. As the oldest son of the Bernhardt Reber, John Reber inherited prime acreage located on the Tulpehocken Creek. He passed this large farm to his son John Reber and on to his grandson, Benjamin Reber. In 1872, artist Charles C. Hofmann created an oil painting of the farm, titled, “View of Benjamin Reber’s Farm,” that now resides in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The purchase of this tree for the DAR Pathway to the Patriots was donated by Nancy Reber Davis, in memory of her paternal aunt, Jane Reber Richards, to honor the Reber Family. Nancy’s daughter, Sarah Joanne Davis, continues the DAR legacy with pride in their Berks County heritage.