Chang & Eng Bunker- "Siamese Twins"

For Christmas, I received a book called "Mobituaries", written by Mo Rocca. I am loving it, even though I haven't much time to read. I just read a very interested story about the "first" siamese twins, or more-or-less the twins the term was named after. 

Born: 11 May 1811- Siam
Died: 17 Jan 1874- Mount Airy, North Carolina
         Age- 62

Eng and Chang Bunker

Now, obviously, I have heard of these twins before and I know I've seen there picture in various articles, but I never knew their story. Born in Siam (today, it's Thailand), they traveled to America at the age of 18 with a man who wanted to "manage" their talent, but he rather took advantage of the twins disability and pocketed most of the profits. At the age of 28, they stopped touring and settled into a small town in North Carolina so that they could marry and have lives of their own. I didn't know this part of their story. I had no idea they both married and even had children! 

Chang and Eng married in 1843 to sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates, daughters of David and Nancy Yates. Between the two brothers, they had 21 children (Chang-10) (Eng- 11)!

~Family of Chang Bunker:

Chang married Adelaide Yates. Adelaide was born on 11 Oct 1823 and died at the age of 93 on 21 May 1917. She outlived her husband, his brother and her sister my many years. Chang and and Adelaide together had 10 children: 

1. Josephine Virginia (1844-1867)
2. Christopher Wrenn (1845-1932)
3. Nancy Adelaide (1847-1874)
4. Susan Mariana (1849-1922)
5. Victoria (1852-1896)
6. Louise Emiline (1855-1934)
7. Albert Lemuel (1857-1944)
8. Jesse Lafayette (1861-1909)
9. Margaret Elizabeth (1863-1950)
10. Hattie Irene (1868-1945)


~Family of Eng Bunker:

Eng married Sarah Ann Yates. She was born on 18 Dec 1822 and died at the age of 69 on 29 Apr 1892. Together, Eng and Sarah had 11 children:

1. Katherine Marcellus (1844-1871)
2. Julia Ann (1845-1865)
3. Stephen Decatur (1846-1920)
4. James Montgomery (1848-1921)
5. Patrick Henry (1850-1938)
6. Rosalyn Etta (1852-1852)
7. William Oliver (1855-1932)
8. Frederick Marshall (1857-1886)
9. Rosella Virginia (1859-1941)
10. Georgianna Columbia (1863-1865)
11. Robert Edward (1865-1951)

This is a terrible picture, but it was the largest "person" picture I could find of the twins and their families (picture courtesy of Google.com). Pictured are the twins, their wives, children and one of their slaves.

Surprisingly, neither brother had twins. However, with all of their 21 children, their direct descendants number over 1500! That is insane! These two men very well could have succumbed to their "disability" or "oddity" but instead, changed their lives for good and did what THEY wanted and I LOVE that part of the story! 

Chang and Eng and their wives Sarah and Adelaide are buried together in the White Plains Baptist Church Cemetery in White Plains, North Carolina. 

Kennedy's- Part 2: Twins!

(This is the second post of my Kennedy Posts. Please visit Part 1 and then after this one, Part 3)

Awhile back, with Ancestry's We're Related App, I discovered and confirmed that the Kennedy Family is part of my family tree- distant cousins. Joseph Patrick Kennedy (JFK's father) is my 6th cousin, 5x removed. While adding their family to my tree, I discovered something interesting. No twins, until you get to Robert Francis Kennedy's descendants...there are 4 sets among his grant and great-grand children. 

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) and his wife Ethel Skakel (b. 1928) had 11 children. 

1. Kathleen Hartington Kennedy (b. 1951)
2. Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (b. 1952)
3. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (b. 1954)
4. David Anthony Kennedy (1955-1984)
5. Mary Courtney Kennedy (b. 1956)
6. Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958-1997)
7. Mary Kerry Kennedy (b. 1959)
8. Christopher George Kennedy (b. 1963)
9. Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (b. 1965)
10. Douglas Harriman Kennedy (b. 1967)
11. Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (b. 1968)

Twin Set 1: 
Robert's daughter, Kathleen married David Lee Townsend and they had 4 daughters. Their eldest daughter is Meaghan Anne Kennedy Townsend (b. 1977). She married Billy Birdzell and they had twins: 

            David Kennedy Birdzell & Arabella Kennedy Birdzell

Born: 15 Aug 2016

Twin Set 2: 

Robert's son, Joseph Patrick Kennedy II married Sheila Brewster Rauch and they had twin sons:

Joseph Patrick Kennedy II & Matthew Rauch Kennedy 

Born: 04 Oct 1980

Twin Set 3: 

Robert's son, Michael LeMoyne married Victoria Denise Gifford and they had 3 children. Their daugther Kyle Frances Kennedy (b. 1984) had twins: 

Josephine Ethel Kerr & Conor Nash Kerr

Born: 26 Sep 2014

(Josephine died in infancy)

(Josephine is obviously not pictured because she passed. This picture is of  Kyle, her husband Liam, their youngest son Declan and the twin Conor. 

Twin Set 4: 

Robert's daughter Kerry married Andrew Mark Cuomo and they had twins: 

Mariah Matilda Kennedy Cuomo & Cara Ethel Kennedy Cuomo

Born: 11 Jan 1995

Twins on the left, Kerry Kennedy Cuomo and youngest daughter, Michaela

                 

Multiples: The Duggar Family

Today's post for my "Multiples" series: The Duggar Family

Anyone who watches television or celebrity entertainment probably knows about the Duggar family. But, just in case you're living in the dark, a bit about them: James Robert "Jim Bob" and Michelle Annette (nee' Ruark) Duggar have 19 children, including 2 sets of twins.

Father: Jim Bob Duggar, b. 18 Jul 1965

Mother: Michelle Duggar, b. 13 Sep 1966                

1. Joshua James "Josh", b. 03 Mar 1988

2. Jana Marie, b. 12 Jan 1990                

3. John-David, b. 12 Jan 1990

4. Jill Michelle, b. 17 May 1991

5. Jessa Lauren, b. 04 Nov 1992

6. Jinger Nicole, b. 21 Dec 1993

7. Joseph Garrett, b. 20 Jan 1995

8. Josiah Matthew, b. 28 Aug 1996

9. Joy-Anna, b. 28 Oct 1997

10. Jedidiah "Jed" Robert, b. 30 Dec 1998

11. Jeremiah Robert, b. 30 Dec 1998

12. Jason Michael, b. 21 Apr 2000

13. James Andrew, b. 07 Jul 2001

14. Justin Samuel, b. 15 Nov 2002

15. Jackson Levi, b. 23 May 2004

16. Johannah Faith, b. 11 Oct 2005

17. Jennifer Danielle, b. 02 Aug 2007

18. Jordyn-Grace, b. 18 Dec 2008

19. Josie Brooklyn, b.10 Dec 2009

Twin Set #1: Jana Marie & John-David 

Jana and John-David were born on 12 Jan 1990 in Tontitown, Arkansas. They have 1 older sibling and 16 younger.

Jana, although being the eldest daughter of the bunch at the age of 29, she has yet to be married and since being in the spotlight on television for years, has yet to have courted any gentlemen. She has co-written a book with her sisters titled "Growing up Duggar".

John-David married Abbie Grace Burnett on 03 Nov 2018. She was born on 16 Apr 1992. They have one child due in Jan 2020. 

Twin Set #2: Jedidiah Robert & Jeremiah Robert

Jedidiah "Jed" and Jeremiah were born on 30 Dec 1998 in Tontitown, Arkansas. They have 9 older siblings and 8 younger siblings, so I suppose they would be considered "the middle child". At 20, they both are single.