Mariah was a daughter of Levi Colbert and Minto-Ho-Yo. Not a great deal is known about her, but fortunately Mariah's life is recorded in part through her daughter Frances Elizabeth Kemp. Mariah Colbert was probably born in Mississippi. Mariah married another prominent Chickasaw leader, Joel Kemp, sometime before 1842 at Old Doaksville, OK which was near the town of Idabel. They were the parents of ten children, six growing to maturity. Around 1852, the family moved to Panola County near the Red River. Mariah and Joel, two sons and four daughters are buried at the family grave near their home. Their known children were: Simon Burney, Joel Carr, Frances Elizabeth, Lillie, Mary Jane, Charity, Daisy, Laura, & Isabella Abigail. During the Civil War, when groups of 15 - 20 Rebel soldiers would stop by the house, and Mariah would cook a whole hog in the wash pot to feed them. They would eat everything and move on.