My artifact is about the history of the McKoy sisters,
Millie and Christine. They were born in 1851 in North Carolina to parents who
were still enslaved. The girls were always viewed as being “special” per se
because, they were “different” with their conjoined bodies, a site that was not
always seen in the world especially in the United States. The girls were taken
from their birth parents and sold to Joe P. Smith, a South Carolina planter.
His family basically became their legal guardians and took them in. They were
their slaves and more importantly, their income. The Smiths took the girls to
exhibit to show off their “freakiness” and “otherness” for money. The girls
stayed with Mrs. Smith, after Mr. Smith died in 1860. Mrs. Smith was very
affectionate and loving to them- she was not a master but a mother!
Also, my PowerPoint deals with the
whole background of conjoined twins. I mentioned the definition of what a
conjoined twin is and some famous twins in the world. One slide described who
the term “Siamese twins” came about from two conjoined twins in Thailand/Siam. The
PowerPoint also stated some interesting facts on conjoined twins and their
survival rates. I also described what “freaks” are according to our reading
packet. I thought it was interesting how the article described what a freak was
and how one becomes “stylized.”
Critical Analysis/Personal Thoughts
I thought
this article that conceded with my PowerPoint was very interesting. Mrs. Ellen
Samuels did a terrific job explaining the background of conjoined twins. She
did a great job even explaining the story of the McKoy sisters. I never have
heard of them in any of my history classes in school or at FRED. I now want to
know more about conjoined twins and how they think. Do they have the same brain
waves; cognitive processing skills; stomachs; livers; etc.?
My
questions are though- why did she not focus more on how the sisters dealt with
the Smith family? I wish I would know how they were “behind the scenes” during
the Barnum’s Circuses or during their lives at the plantation. I wonder how much
the sisters made, too? I know this reading packet was not really a biography
of-sorts but I wish Samuels would have dived deeper in some aspects.
Lastly, I chose this topic for a few
reasons. My brother and I are fraternal
twins. I thought this would be interesting to discuss in a way because,
even though we aren’t connected, we are connected spiritually and we have that
“special bond” too. I thought as being a twin, how interesting it would be to
be a conjoined twin and how my life would be different- maybe my brother would
be right next to me as I type this assignment for you; or maybe we would be
home fighting over who’s turn it is to spoon us dinner? That would be quite the
image. However, as much as I somewhat pick on conjoined twins, my heart goes
out to them. I feel sorry that so many of them are “stuck” like that in a way-
“together forever” literally! They have to do everything together, no matter if
the other twin does not want to. Moreover, the twins may not make it to
adulthood. My PowerPoint mentioned how basically only about 20-25% survives
after surgery or that one twin may die and the other may live.
Discussion Questions
1) Why were the McKoy sisters considered “freaks?”
2) Why is it extremely rare to see conjoined twins today?
3) Does medical science define conjoined twins as 1 or 2
people? Why or why not?
4) If you were a conjoined twin, would you want to be
separated from yourself? Or would you want to stay intact?
~Chad S.
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