Source: History of Boone County, Indiana, by Hon. L.M. Crist, 1914.
WILLIAM F. COBB Another of the gallant veterans who went out
to fight in defense of
"the flag that has never touched the ground" in the
days of its direst peril, the early sixties,
is William F. Cobb. What a splendid sight it is to see the remnants
of a once gigantic army,
in their blue uniforms, marching past on special occasions; but
they will all be beyond the
Great Divide in a few more years, and nothing will be left but
a memory. That memory
should be something more than a sound. Their deeds should be perpetuated
in song and
story, in monument and perpetual commemoration, so that future
generations may draw
inspiration from their patriotism and valor. Mr. Cobb, who has
devoted his life to
carpentering and agricultural pursuits, is living quietly in his
pleasant home in Marion
township, Boone county, the interests of which he has long had
at heart, and, according to
those who know him well, has proven to be a good citizen in every
respect, and his friends
are many throughout the county.
Mr. Cobb was born in Harrison county, Ohio, December 8, 1838.
He is a son of William
and Mary (Copeland) Cobb, both natives also of the Buckeye state.
The paternal
grandparents, William Cobb, Sr., and his wife were natives of
England, from which
country they emigrated to the United States and were early settlers
in Ohio. The maternal
grandparents, Thomas and Mary Copeland, were Pennsylvania Dutch
in blood. William
Cobb, Jr., father of our subject, was born February 6, 1809. The
mother was born
October 10, 1816. These parents were married March 24, 1836, in
Harrison county,
Ohio. The father was a carpenter by trade, and in the fall of
1854 he brought his family
overland to Boone county, Indiana, the trip requiring fifteen
days. They located at the
village of Northfield where they remained one year, renting a
farm, the following spring
removing to Marion township, on two hundred and forty acres of
timbered land, which
they purchased. The elder Cobb soon cleared a place for his house
and built a rough log
cabin. With the help of his son, our subject, many acres of the
place were cleared and put
under cultivation, and in due course of time they became very
comfortably situated. There
the death of the mother occurred on November 17, 1872, after which
the father came to
reside with our subject until his death, which occurred October
1, 1877, at the age of sixty-
eight years seven months and twenty-five days. He had been justice
of the peace for many
years which office he held at time of death. His family consisted
of the following children:
Capt. Thomas A., of Marion township, this county, born January
21, 1837; William F., of
this sketch; Jacob S., of Lebanon, Indiana, born August 25, 1841;
Nancy, born August 11,
1843 is the widow of Thomas Evans, and is living in Lebanon; John,
born October 6,
1845, was killed in Indianapolis by a railway train, left two
children; Henry, born April 25,
1852, was killed in Lebanon by a fall, left a widow and one child;
James, born October 6,
1845, lives in Lebanon; Christina, born March 13, 1850, is the
wife of Anthony Kincaid,
of Lebanon; Mary L., born January 13, 1855, died December 29,
1862; Dorothy, born
March 2, 1861, is the wife of Alfred Kincaid.
William F. Cobb, of this review, grew up on the home farm and
attended the rural schools.
When eighteen years of age he started to learn the trade of gunsmith
with John Kincaid, in
Boone county, and he continued until completing the same, becoming
a skilled workman,
then came to Marion township and started a gunsmith shop on his
father's farm, and
conducted the same successfully until the commencement of the
Civil war, when, in the
spring of 1861 he enlisted in Company A, Tenth Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, in which he
served three years. He then was transferred to Company A, Fifty-eighth
Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, as one of the principal musicians, and as such he marched
with Sherman to the
sea. He was honorably discharged and mustered out at Goldsboro,
North Carolina, March
28, 1865, after seeing considerable hard service, having always
performed his duties as a
soldier faithfully and uncomplainingly.
After the war Mr. Cobb returned home and resumed work in his
shop, which he continued
about six months, then began carpentering which he has made his
principal life work ever
since, being known as one of the most expert workmen in the county.
Mr. Cobb married, July 15, 1866, Amy G. Hileman, who was born
in Hamilton county,
Ohio, March 6, 1847. She is a daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Wilson)
Hileman, an old
family of the above named county. After his marriage Mr. Cobb
farmed his father's farm
two years, then moved to two and one-half acres which his father-in-law
gave him, in
section 21, Marion township. After continuing the carpenter's
trade about five years he
bought a sawmill, which he operated nine years, doing a good business,
then sold out and
resumed carpenter work. He has added to his place until he now
owns forty-three and
three-fourths acres of good land, which he has improved in an
up-to-date manner,
including an attractive residence and outbuildings. No more beautiful
lawn is to be found
in the county. It is covered with stately shade trees, shrubbery,
flower beds, urns, and
other features, indicating that Mr. Cobb is something of a landscape
gardner. His place is
known as "Linda Vista" (French, meaning beautiful view.)
On April 19, 1885, Mr. Cobb was appointed chief of all mechanical
lines, also of the fire
department, in fact, had absolute charge of all repairing of the
Indiana Central Hospital for
the Insane at Indianapolis. He discharged his duties in an able
and highly acceptable
manner, until October 1, 1912, when he resigned and returned to
his beautiful home in
Boone county where he now lives, spending his declining years
in quiet and surrounded by
all the comforts of life, living with his son-in-law, John M.
Kiser, who has conducted the
place since Mr. Cobb first went to Indianapolis, twenty-nine years
ago.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cobb: Orilla
May, born April 15,
1867, wife of John M. Kiser, have two children, Vesta, born May
8, 1892 and Vern, born
May 13, 1896; Mary Ellen, born March 12, 1871, wife of Peter Christian,
of Rosston,
Boone county; they have one child, Ethel G., born February 3,
1897. The wife and
mother was called to her eternal rest on March 7, 1899, on her
fifty-second birthday. On
September 30, 1912, Mr. Cobb married Kate McCabe, who was born
in Thrym, County
Meath, Ireland, and she is a daughter of John and Mary (Clark)
McCabe, who emigrated
to America when Mrs. Cobb was young and settled in Crawfordsville,
Indiana, where Mr.
McCabe died in 1861. Mrs. Cobb was the widow of James Cassidy,
by whom she had
one son, Charles Cassidy, who is engaged in the garage business
at Greencastle, Indiana.
Mrs. Cobb was chief cook in the Indiana Central Hospital for the
Insane at Indianapolis
from 1889 until she married our subject.
Politically, Mr. Cobb has always been a Democrat. He served
as trustee of Marion
township, also as assessor of the same, one term each, a number
of years ago, giving
satisfaction to his constituents. Fraternally, he is a member
of the Masonic Order, Lodge
No. 526 at Rosston, Indiana, and the Chapter at Lebanon; he belongs
to Lodge No. 644,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Indianapolis, and has passed
all the chairs in the
same. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He and
his wife are intelligent,
experienced, hospitable and charming people to meet.
CASSIDY CHRISTIAN CLARK COBB COPELAND EVANS HILEMAN KINCAID
KISER MCCABE WILSON
Submitted by Amy K. Davis
