Born March 23, 1832, in Wayne county, Indiana. He was entered a student at Whitewater College, Centerville, Indiana, and at that institution received the greater part of his education. After leaving school he chose the law as his profession, and entered upon its study with ardor and a determination to succeed. Naturally of superior intellect, quick to comprehend, with a mind at once synthetic and analytical, it readily grasped the obtuse, subtle propositions of the different branches of the law, and his progress was easy, rapid, and thorough. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar. Having qualified himself for the profession by a severe course of reading, under the instruction of the ablest attorneys in the state, he was prepared to enter at once upon the large and lucrative practice that awaited him in Wayne, Union, and neighboring counties. He continued to practice in these counties with gratifying success for five years. But like many other young men, he desired to seek his fortune in the great west, and in 1857 he left Wayne county, Indiana, and going to the state of Iowa, settled in a county of the same name as the one he had left in Indiana. While a citizen of Iowa he was elected by the people to a seat in the upper branch of the state legislature, and filled that position with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction and profit of those whom he represented. While in Iowa, he also edited, for one year, a paper known as the South Tier Democrat, and in the capacity of editor, proved that his versatility of intellect qualified him for other fields of mental labor, than the practice of the legal profession. In 1864 he moved to Caldwell county, Missouri, and was, in 1865, appointed circuit attorney for the fifth judicial circuit, which office he held till January, 1869. While in that county he was also appointed one of the curators of the state university, at Columbia. In 1866 Judge Esteb removed to Richmond, Ray county, of which place he has ever since been a respected citizen. His ability as a lawyer is acknowledged by all who know him, and he is above reproach as a man of integrity and excellent moral character. September 10, 1855, Elijah F. Esteb was married to Miss Rebecca W. Mills, a native of Ohio. Judge Esteb and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.