Tags
Chang & Eng, Circus Side Show, Curiosities, Five Points, Five Points Graphics, Mt. Airy, Siamese Twins, Twins
Our latest journey through North Carolina led us to the gravesite of Chang & Eng Bunker, the world famous conjoined twins from Siam (now Thailand). Given the label of “original Siamese Twins”, the brothers began touring the world at 16 years old as a human curiosity. They held many exhibitions performing acrobatics, lecturing, and giving people a close up look at something they never imagined possible. They became incredibly popular celebrities throughout their touring history, earning enough money to purchase land and settle down near Mount Airy, NC. They tried to live separate lives as best they could even after countless doctors determined it was too great a risk to separate the twins. Chang & Eng married sisters, Adelaide and Sarah Yates, and had 21 children between both couples. After their deaths at age 64, Chang & Eng’s bodies were autopsied and cast by physicians associated with the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia. The conjoined livers and the cast of their death torso are currently on display at the museum. Their bodies were buried in an unmarked grave on family property in NC, and eventually moved to the White Plains Baptist Church cemetery.
Photos taken at the White Plains Baptist Church and the Surry Arts Council exhibit: http://www.surryarts.org/siamesetwins/index.html