When Rachel Colyar was born on 25 April 1815, in Ohio, United States, her father, John Colyar, was 34 and her mother, Rhoda Pearson, was 36. She married Ephraim Jackson McCleary on 3 May 1832, in Cass, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 6 daughters. She lived in Wayne Township, Kosciusko, Indiana, United States for about 10 years and Indiana, United States in 1870. She died on 3 May 1881, in Warsaw, Wayne Township, Kosciusko, Indiana, United States, at the age of 66, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Warsaw, Wayne Township, Kosciusko, Indiana, United States.