Millie-Christine Collection, PC.266

Millie and Christine McCoy (1851-1912) were conjoined twin sisters born into slavery in Columbus County, North Carolina, to Jacob and Monemia McCoy, who were enslaved by Jabez McCoy, a blacksmith. Contemporary medical accounts described their anatomy in ways that reflected nineteenth-century scientific understanding. An advertising broadside quoting Dr. John Lizars of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (January 19, 1857) stated that they were united "by their backbones...the band of union is between 16 and 17 inches in circumference, involving at least the bones of the sacrum and coccyx...and all probability united the sacral nerves and spinal cords, so as to constitute one individual, or two girls with one nervous system."In 1852, when the sisters were approximately ten months old, they were sold to John C. Purvis of Chesterfield District, South Carolina, for $1,000. Under the terms of the sale, Jabez McCoy retained one-quarter of the proceeds from their public exhibition and agreed to allow their mother to travel with them. If the sisters were sold again, McCoy was to receive one-quarter of the sale price, and their mother was to be returned to him. In 1853, for $200, McCoy relinquished his remaining rights to exhibition proceeds. (Columbus County Deed Book K, p. 476; Book L, pp. 138-139.)From an early age, Millie and Christine were separated from their parents and exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. Historical accounts indicate that they were frequently subjected to invasive public examinations, including being displayed unclothed before audiences. They were eventually reunited with their parents and went on to build successful careers as performers. With the assistance of later managers, they learned to read and write in at least five languages, played the piano, and toured internationally, presenting both their musical talents and themselves to audiences. They never married and eventually returned to live on the land where they had been born in the Welches Creek community of Columbus County. They died on October 9-10, 1912.This collection includes newspaper clippings and advertisements documenting Professor W. J. L. Millar's exhibitions of Millie and Christine beginning in 1855. According to Millar's account, he encountered the sisters in Boston, purchased them from a woman he described as a "spotted woman," exhibited them in Canada, and sailed with them for Liverpool on January 1, 1855.Millar, a magician and theatrical manager, exhibited the sisters in England and Scotland until February 1857, when, according to his account, they were taken away by Joseph Pearson Smith of Wadesboro, North Carolina, and their mother. Newspaper clippings and notes by Millar's son, Bertram, indicate that Millar continued performing in Scotland and England between 1862 and 1864 with his wife, a singer. They also note that Millie and Christine continued performing into the late nineteenth century. Historical advertisements and newspaper accounts refer to them using racist and ableist language, including the phrase "the famous two-headed Negress." On October 31, 1866, they were advertised as the "Carolina Twins" while appearing in Cincinnati, Ohio, alongside Chang and Eng Bunker. (Irving and Amy Wallace, The Two, 1978.)The 1870 federal census lists Jacob and Monemia McCoy, seven additional children, and Milley Green, age 70, in the household. Jacob McCoy's will, dated May 3, 1888, and probated April 18, 1891, names his wife and children, including "Milla Christine." Estate papers indicate that Millie and Christine inherited 22 of Jacob McCoy's 78 acres, including his dwelling house. In a will dated September 1912, the sisters referred to themselves collectively as "I" and, under the name "Millia Christine McCoy," named "my beloved sister Clarrah Yeoman" as heir, with three nieces, including Millia Christine Chancy, designated as beneficiaries after Clarrah Yeoman's death. The recorded will, signed "Millie-Christine," was probated on October 15, 1912.

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• •  DS_201411130 (15 files, 608 MB)
  DS_201411130

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• •  Millie-Christine McCoy Collection
  PC.266.1

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Gift