Conjoined Twins Born In 1912 Chose To Remain Physically Attached — Here’s What Their Lives Were Like

Mary and Margaret Gibb were born as conjoined twins in 1912 to their parents residing in Holyoke, Massachusetts. They were raised alongside their younger sister Dorothy and often kept in the house and homeschooled into teenhood.

Mary and Margaret were born with their rear end attached; however, they had separate organs except for their rectum. The girls’ condition attracted global attention, including offers for a surgical separation, which they rejected.

Conjoined twins Mary and Margaret chose to stay attached

There were rumors of a separation surgery when Mary came down with influenza; however, the famous surgeon, Dr. Francis P. Weston, did not perform it. Despite choosing to stick together, the twins had contrasting personalities; Mary was reportedly “overweight, easygoing, and carefree,” while Margaret was “thin, high-strung, and always worried about health and finances.”

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Margaret publicly announced in 1928 that she was getting married to a certain Carlos Daniel Josefe, whom she met in New Orleans; however, the wedding never happened even though they applied for a marriage license.

They thrived as performers

At 14, Mary and Margaret moved to New York City for vaudeville, a popular 20th-century entertainment style involving specialty acts like comedy, music, and dance. They made money from singing and dancing and eventually joined the Barnum and Cole Brothers Circuses.

They became successful and toured Europe with the group, appearing in Germany, Paris, and Switzerland, as well as in the United States with the tag “America’s Siamese Twins.” In 1966, Margaret was diagnosed with bladder cancer that spread to her lungs, to which Mary responded by saying, “Her life was ebbing away… We agreed that whatever fate held in store for her would have to embrace me also.” They both died two minutes apart in August of the following year.

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