O. Nusbaum, 112; Was Believed to Be Oldest Person

GOSHEN, Ind. — Orpha Nusbaum, believed by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the oldest person in the world and who was born when Gen. George Custer was one year away from his last stand, has died.

Mrs. Nusbaum was 112 when she died Wednesday at a nursing home here.

It was only last month that Guinness officials, who restrict recognition to those who can provide birth records and other documentation, said they believed she was the oldest person alive.

Mrs. Nusbaum, twice widowed, was honored at a special ceremony in January when officials put the Goshen city seal on census documents indicating she was born in 1875--when Ulysses S. Grant occupied the White House--on the family farm near Middlebury about 10 miles away. She spent most of her life in Middlebury until moving to the nursing home in 1982.

Florence Knapp, who lived in a Philadelphia suburb, had been recognized as the world’s oldest person until her death Jan. 11. She was 114 years and 94 days old.