A Portrait and Biographical Record of Hendricks County (Chicago: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1895)--pages 1013-1014
Elihu W. Coble, of Franklin Township, Hendricks County, Ind., and one of the old soldiers of the Civil War, who bears the scars of battle and lost an arm in the service of his country, was born in Hendricks County, Ind., and is the son of George A. Coble, one of the county's pioneers. His ancestors were German and early settlers of Pennsylvania in colonial times. His grandfather, Samuel Coble, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, who married in North Carolina and died there at the age of sixty years. His wife reached the great age of nearly one hundred years. George A. Coble, father of our subject, was born about 1791 in North Carolina and acted as justice of the peace at an early day. He went to Tennessee when a young man, was under Gen. Jackson in the war of 1812, and was in the battle of Horse Shoe Bend. He married in Bedford County, Tenn., Mary Shofner. Mr. Coble was a substantial farmer, owned a large farm on Duck River, and was also a slave owner, by inheritance, but he was an abolitionist and would not hold his slaves, and set them free. In 1828 he moved to Indiana and settled in the woods near Mooresville, Morgan County, He entered 320 acres of land in Franklin Township, Hendricks County, in 1828-29, and finally cleared up a good farm and became prosperous. He was a very hard-working, patriotic pioneer citizen. To himself and wife were born ten children: Catherine, Daniel, Millie, William, Gabriel, Plummer, Elihu W., Eli, Margaret and Lydia. All lived to rear families except Plummer, who never married, and all were born in Tennessee, except Elihu and the younger three. Mr. Coble was a strong Union man and had four sons in the civil war: Daniel, William, Gabriel and Elihu. Daniel was in an Indiana infantry regiment, William in an Iowa infantry regiment, and Gabriel was in an Iowa cavalry regiment. The military experience of Elihu will be related further on. Mr. and Mrs. Coble were members of the Methodist Church. He lived to be eighty-eight years of age and retained his activity and mental faculties.
Elihu W. Coble was born December 20, 1856, in Hendricks County, Franklin Township, Ind. He became a farmer and stock raiser and married November 27, 1856, Jane, daughter of James and Sarah (Heavens) Sallust. Jane Coble bore one son, William, and then died. Mr. Coble next married Miss Emma, daughter of Markson and Nancy (Jones) Siler, and by this wife Mr. Coble became the father of three children: Ada, James and Quincy. Mr. Coble settled on a farm in Putnam County, Ind., in 1856, owning 140 acres of land, on which he remained until he came to his present home at Stilesville, where he now owns 246 acres of fine farm land. Elihu W. Coble, enlisted August 15, 1862, in Company G, Ninety-ninth Regiment Indiana Infantry, in Hendricks County, and was enrolled at Clayton, as a private to serve three years, or during the war, under Col. Alexander Fowler, Capt. Tillsbury Reed. He served until he was disabled by his wounds and was honorably discharge November 29, 1864, at Indianapolis. His colonel has written on h is discharge—“Elihu W. Coble has been in the following engagements: Vicksburg, Jackson, Missionary Ridge, Dalton, Resaca, Altoona Hill, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahooche River and Atlanta.” Mr. Coble was also in the battles of Peach Tree Creek, Smokey Creek Gap, New Hope Church and Champion Hill. He was also in the battle before Atlanta, on July 22, when Gen. McPherson was killed, and considers it the hardest battle that he was in. At the battle at Atlanta, of July 28, 1864, Mr. Coble was shot in the left arm by a minie ball. He walked off the field, unaided, to the river, and then fainted from the loss of blood. He was first in the field hospital, at Marietta, Ga., until September, and was then sent home on furlough and discharged, his left arm having been amputated. He was on many hard marches and was in all the battles, skirmishes and marches in which his regiment took part, and came near being captured on the 22nd of July at the battle of Atlanta. Mr. Coble was promoted to corporal for meritorious conduct. After partial recovery, on returning home, Mr. Coble engaged in farming and stock raising, and, although he has but one arm, has done a large amount of work, having always been a very strong, robust man, of iron constitution, inherited from his ancestors. He is a member of Enoch Alexander post, G.A.R., at Stilesville. His second wife died, and he married Malinda, daughter of George and Nancy (McPeters) Horner, and they have two children: Laura and Lee. Mr. Coble has, throughout his life, been a practical business man and has accumulated a goodly property by his thrift and industry. His integrity is unimpeached and he stands high as a citizen. He descends from a Revolutionary patriot, and his family have fought as soldiers in three wars, and his children may well point with pride to their honorable soldier record.