For anyone interested. 21 kids between them is good going! Sex must have been strange....

Chang and Eng Bunker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


A painting of Chang and Eng Bunker, circa 1836


Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811–January 17, 1874) were the conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term "Siamese Twins."

Biography


The Bunkers in their later years.


The Bunker brothers were born on May 11, 1811 in Siam (now Thailand), in the province of Samutsongkram, to a fisherman and a mother (Nok or นาก (Nak) in Thai).[1] They were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage. Their livers were fused but independently complete. Although 19th century medicine did not have the means to do so, modern surgical techniques would have easily allowed them to be separated today. In 1829, they were discovered in Siam by British merchant Robert Hunter and exhibited as a curiosity during a world tour. Upon termination of their contract with their discoverer, they successfully went into business for themselves. In 1839, while visiting Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the twins were attracted to the town and settled there, becoming naturalizedUnited States citizens.

Determined to start living a normal life as much as possible, the brothers settled on a plantation, bought slaves, and adopted the name "Bunker". On April 13, 1843, they married two sisters: Chang to Adelaide Yates and Eng to Sarah Anne Yates. Chang and his wife had 10 children; Eng and his wife had 11. In time, the wives squabbled[citation needed] and eventually two separate households were set up just west of Mount Airy, North Carolina in the community of White Plains – the twins would alternate spending three days at each home. During the American Civil War Chang's son Christopher and Eng's son Stephen both fought for the Confederacy. The twins died on the same day in 1874. Chang, who had been in declining health for several years, died first; Eng died four hours later.