Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-08-06
AGED TWINS At DONIPHAN
brs. Gideon and Mr.. Stump Have Lived
Together Bigh y-si1 Years.
BOUGHT GOODS FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Descendants of Revolutionary SOL
dier, They Have Lived on From
tier of Civilization UntII IL
Has Disappeared.

GRAND ISLAND Neb Aug 5.-Cspe-
cial)-O the outskirts OF the village Of
Doniphan twelve miles south Of this city.
there lives a most interesting family Not
only could the family be featured from the
standpoint that It contains, perhaps. the
Oldest male and female twins in the United
states. but direct members of II have,
aside from the distlnguishment of the
double birth, a most interesting family
history Here resides Mrs j. NJ. Gideon
ana Marceilus stump. They we're born
twins In ohio eighty-six years ago. and
are still IN fair state Of health for that
age Mr.. Gideon, husband OF the twin
girl baby Of 1870 well remembers having
purchased his FIRST groceries Of Abraham
Lincoln and in his minds eye stlll freshly
delineated Is the picture Of his grand
father, soldier in the revolutionary war
and man VINO died at the age Of lO6
years.
A chat with people who were eye wit
nesses OF fosr generations ago was in
teresting. Mr.. and Mrs Gideon and the
twin brother, MI. Stump, live with one
OF the Gideon sons On their farm, the
father sun owning the farm. Mr. Stump
and his sister have never been parted
that Is TO say, not for any great length
Of time, though Mr.. Stump never mar
ried and has travelled much On the day
Che correspondent called to interview the
interesting group MIR. stump was not at
home, having gone, unaccOmpanied, to
attend the Chdutauqua assembly at Fair
bury, attracted thitncr by the addresses
of Thomas Lawson and Governor Folk
W. II. Gideon, another son, and former
postmaster Of the village, ACCOMPANIED the
correspondent to the nome and remarked
that ms latuer had some unsatisfactory
dealings with atlas men and agents re-
Gently anu viewed strangers with some
suspicion hU"ever after an introduce
ton ana the assurance that the atlas wasn't
in it, he became very communicative.
His wtfe, ne saiu, and her twin brother
were born in Ohio near Urbana. He
(Gideon) was born near Piqua, in the
same state. The Gideon family moved to
Illinois, where they lived several years
In Sangamon county-and later, in 1862,
moved 10 Iowa. The twin brother of his
wife had Travelled, while a young man.
out TO Nebraska and had taken up the land
upon which they were now living. In 1877
Gideon traded with his brother-in-law for
this land and came to Doniphan to settle
upon II and Garm It. At this time this sec
ton of the state was in the beginning of
its occupancy by the whites and in the
initial stages OF settlement. Gideon then
and gave as his reason for coming to Ne
braska that there was more land here that
he could acquire for them or that they
could acquire for themselves
Bought Goods of Lincoln.
''sangamoh county was Lincolns home
county in Illinois," was suggested.
Yes, / remember Lincoln quite well. l
mind buying my first groceries of him. d"
replied GiCron. II saw him later at Spring
field, too, ana quite often. He was then
just beginning to get up, but about that
time we came farther west and person
ally l never became acquainted with him.
We left there really before he became
prominent in affairs About the twins?
Well, married Aurela Stump. the twin
sister, In Illinois, in 1919. She had been
brought out to illinois about the same time
my family moved from Ohio to that state,
by family named Broughton, to whom
she and her brother had been what was in
those days called bound out. Their par
ents had died when they were very young.
Neither of 'sm remembers anything OF
their father or mother. Well, after that
we went TO iowa, l and my wife, and Mr.
Stump ana we've sort of been keeping to-
gether ever since. though he travels about
good deal ,"
Mrs. Gideon, though suffering for years
from very defective sight, is still able
to get about the house. When asked as tc
what she recalled of her earlier days she
repeated in general the details given by
her husband and added that she had two
sisters, one older and one younger thar
herself One OF them died a few years