Stephen White Gibson was born to John and Anna (McNary) Gibson in Henderson County, Illinois on December 22, 1840. He was one of seven children, including Margaret (Gibson) Finney (1830-), Martha (Gibson) Dean (1832-1907), Andrew Jackson (1834-1909), Mary Ann (Gibson) Smith (1836-1904), Elizabeth (Gibson) Dean (1838-), and Robert Armstrong (1843-1848). Stephen Gibson enlisted in Company B of the 59th Illinois Volunteer Regiment on March 9, 1864. This unit fought at Stones River before being assigned to the Atlanta Campaign. It later pursued General Hood into Tennessee and was assigned to New Orleans, Louisiana and to New Braunfels, Texas. Gibson mustered out with his unit on December 8, 1865 and returned Illinois, where he married Martha Jennie Alden and had at least six children: Sarah, Nora, Charles, Frank, Maggie, and Lizzie. The family lived in Red Oak, Iowa and in Wichita, Kansas, where Stephen Gibson died on July 4, 1926.

The Copperheads were a faction of northern Democrats who opposed the American Civil War and wanted an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. The most famous Copperhead was Ohio's Clement L. Vallandigham, who was a vehement opponent of Lincoln's policies.