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The Original "Siamese Twins"
Written by Robert Coven   

Watercolor on ivory painting of Eng and Chang Bunker

Eng and Chang Bunker, were the original "Siamese Twins."  Born in what is today Thailand, in 1811, they are described as having had a "normal boyhood."  They traveled throughout the Americas and Europe, "giving lectures and demonstrations" to gatherings common and royal.  The conjoined twins decided to leave behind their life on the road and settle in North Carolina.  They married Wilkes County natives, Adelaide and Sarah Yates--sisters, but not twins--in 1843.  The Bunkers had 21 children.  The twins died, two-and-one-half hours apart, in January 1874.  (http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/gallery/twins.html)

This watercolor on ivory painting, depicting the twins, "by an unidentified French or Dutch artist in Paris between December, 1835 and March, 1836 . . . is currently in the holdings of the North Carolina Collection Gallery."  (http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/gallery/twins.html)

 

Our valuable member Robert Coven has been with us since Wednesday, 20 January 2010.

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