I. A. and A. I. Thompson - World War I Twins

From the Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana - April 13, 1918

The brothers were part of the 146th infantry group that was sent to France in 1918 where they probably participated in the battle at Meuse-Argonne and then in several battles in Belgium.  Luckily, they both survived and came back to Hicksville to spend the rest of their days.  They kept the names the military had given them because the names Aden and Iden appeared in the census records, although from the article, it seemed the folks in Hicksville kept their initials as their names.

In the 1920 census, the boys, at 25 years old, were still single and living with their parents, Tally and Mary Thompson in Hicksville.  Both men had jobs at the handle factory.

By 1930, both fellows were married and both rented separate homes on Arthur Street.  Iden married Zelma and had three children at that time, and he was working at odd jobs.  Aden was married to Lucille and was a laborer in a factory...maybe still the handle factory.  His father, Tally, lived with them, and they had no children.

The last census available was 1940, where both men listed as their occupation, "War Veteran."  Iden lived on Meuse Argonne Road and had five children, all at home.  Aden still lived on West Arthur and he and Lucille had no children.

Both were buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Hicksville.  Aden I. Thompson died in 1946, and the name Aden appeared on his tombstone.  (October 28, 1894 - September 14, 1946)

Iden A. Thompson was buried with his wife, Zelma M. Whitman, and an infant daughter.  He died in 1952 and the military assigned name, Iden, also appeared on his stone.