John Coble, Wyoming Cattle Baron
In October 2021, John and Georgene Coble made the cover of ACJ American and were profiled in an article on page 27.
In the article, John and Georgene were described as “a team whose dedication to the Chi-influenced cattle breed has spanned almost three decades (2001 ACA).” The Cobles were lauded for their decades of cattle management and promotion of Chi (Italian Chianina cattle) genetics as well as the show circuit. The article also shared that “John and Georgene Coble are from the Pennsylvania Dutch Country near Hershey, PA…by the late 60s the ‘expanded’ Coble Team included children, and they hear the call to go west. Way west, to the Bitterroot country of western Montana (2001 ACA).”
There was another John Coble born in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country of Pennsylvania who heard “the call to go west.” This John Coble (John Cathcart Coble) headed to Wyoming.
John C. Coble was known as a “bucking horse contractor.” He bought the horse, Steamboat, who is considered to be the “Greatest Bucking Horse of All Time.” He was notorious for “tossing cowboys like rag dolls (McKee).” Steamboat was such a sensation that he has been memorialized on the Wyoming license plate (American Profile) and as the logo for the University of Wyoming (Steamboat).
John C. Coble was a very successful cattleman in Wyoming. He was referred to as a Cattle Baron or the Cattle King. He owned the Iron Mountain Ranch Company and was a member of the Wyoming Cattleman’s Association. Furthermore, he became very wealthy and was well respected. Alas, life was not always easy for the cattlemen. Wyoming was overrun with cattle rustlers and sheep farmers who tried to infringe on cattle ranch property, and “Coble was a man who hated rustlers, and even more than the rustlers hated sheep farmers (Whitlow).”
The rustlers and sheep farmers became such a problem that John Coble and the other cattlemen decided to hire Tom Horn, a “Cattle Detective” to deal with the problem any way he saw fit. Tom Horn had quite a reputation for using controversial methods and was recognized for being a very good shot. Tom dealt with “things” any way he chose to, even though law-abiding people would not agree with him. He had no qualms about doing whatever he felt it took to get the job done. John Coble continued to support Tom Horn, but the other cattlemen began to voice concern.
Things came to a head with John Coble and sheep rancher Kels Nickell who alienated other ranchers when he damned the water and cut off the water supply to many other ranches. Their feud was ongoing, but finally, Coble had enough and threatened Nickell. Kels Nickell retaliated and stabbed John Coble. John Coble hired Tom Horn to take care of Kels Nickell.
At some point, someone took a shot at Nickell. Since he didn’t die, some doubted that it was Tom Horn since he was such a good shot. Nickell stayed inside and sent his 14-year-old son out to do the chores around the ranch. Someone then took a shot at the boy and killed him. Tom Horn was blamed, even though he had an alibi. While drunk, he made a comment that wasn’t an admission of guilt but nonetheless led to his death sentence for murder.
John Coble vowed to support Tom Horn and pay for his defense. This was very expensive and John Coble lost his fortune. After Tom Horn was hanged, John Coble moved to Nevada. Tragically, John C. Coble never recovered and committed suicide in an Elko hotel.
In 1980 Steve McQueen starred in a movie about Tom Horn. This is where we first heard of John Coble and wanted to know if he was a real person and if so, was he related.
The answer is, yes, John Cathcart Coble was a real person. Is he related to our John Coble? It’s possible but so far, I have not been able to find the evidence. John Cathcart Coble was born in 1859 in Carlisle, Cumberland, Pennsylvania. His father was John Eberly Coble who was born in 1826. He was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Cumberland, Pennsylvania. John E. Coble’s father was Daniel Coble who was born in 1794. I can’t find where he was born, but he was buried in Cumberland, Pennsylvania. (The Mennonites kept good records in Pennsylvania, but I have been unable to locate any records beyond Daniel.) So was John Cathcart Coble a direct ancestor of our Coble branch? No. But it is possible that he was a relative. So far, I cannot find Daniel’s parents. His father may have been a brother or a cousin of our first ancestor to arrive in America, Jacob Kobel who was born in 1768 in Germany and died in Conewago, Dauphin, Pennsylvania. Our branch of the Coble family still has ties to the family homestead, and we are on the 9th generation of Cobles who has consistently lived on this property.
So is John Cathcart Coble part of our family lore? Possibilities exist and more research may tell the whole story.
Sources
“2001 ACA National Show & Sale Salutes the Coble Team.” ACJ America, vol. 29, no. 5, Oct. 2001, p. 27.
American Profile. “Wyoming License Plate’s Bucking Horse.” American Profile, 27 Apr. 2003, americanprofile.com/articles/wyoming-license-plates-bucking-horse/.
“Horn’s Curse Follows Coble Wherever He Goes.” Eureka Sentinel, 19 Sept. 1914, p. 1.
McKee, Vonn. “Steamboat: ‘The Closest Thing to Perpetual Motion That Ever Wore Hair’.” Western Fictioneers, 27 Jan. 2019, westernfictioneers.blogspot.com/2019/01/steamboat-closest-thing-to-perpetual.html.
“Steamboat: Wyoming’s Wildest Resident.” American Heritage Center (AHC) #AlwaysArchiving, 22 Apr. 2022, ahcwyo.org/2022/07/25/steamboat-wyomings-wildest-resident/.
“Tom Horn’s Backer Commits Suicide in Elko Hotel.” Tonopah Daily Bonanza, 7 Dec. 1914, p. 4.
“Tom Horn-Delta.” Deltavan1, 15 Feb. 2017, deltavan1.wordpress.com/2017/02/15/tom-horn-delta/.
“Tom Horn.” Tom Horn III–Wyoming Tales and Trails, www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/horn5.html. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.
“Tom Horn: Wyoming Enigma.” Tom Horn: Wyoming Enigma | WyoHistory.Org, www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/tom-horn-wyoming-enigma. Accessed 5 Jan. 2024.
Whitlow, Simone Toni. “John Coble.” Tales of History and Imagination, 26 May 2020, historyandimagination.com/tag/john-coble/.