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Born in Holyoke hospital May 20, 1912, they were daughters of Margaret H. (Lawrence) Gibb and the late John Gibb. They were joined at the base of the spine. Mrs. Gibb is believed to be the first woman in the United States to survive a conjoined birth. Conjoined births such as the Gibb sisters happen on the average of three times per century.
Twice they had undergone surgery at New England Deaconess Hospital, both times for Margaret. In 1946, a stone was removed from Margaret's bladder, and in 1953, the twins underwent major surgery for Margaret, removal of an abdominal fibroid tumor.
(above) At the age of 2
Since, then, they had entered Holyoke Hospital from time to time for check-ups,
The famous surgeon, Dr. Frank Lahey performed both operations. Following the last one, he said Mary and Margaret were in excellent condition. "They are two Of the nicest people you ever met in your life," said Dr. Lahey, founder of the Lahey Clinic.
Parents of the twins twice decided against risking an operation to separate them, first when they were. three years old, and again in 1928, following an examination by Dr. Francis P. Weston at West Park Hospital New York.
Mary and Margaret were among the longest-lived Siamese twins on record. Chang and Eng, the conjoined twins from Siam who popularized the "Siamese twins" term while traveling with the P. T. Barnum circus in the late 1800's, lived to be 63.
Mary and Margaret were identical. Mary, at four feet eight inches, was two inch shorter than her sister, and, although at different times in their lives the twins gained and lost weight, since their retirement from vaudeville and circus life, Mary had been the heavier. Both had dark hair and blue eyes, but Margaret's comp1exion was lighter than Mary's.
For the first 15 years of their lives, the twins lived in relative seclusion. They were educated by tutors at home.
Then they entered vaudeville, doing a song and dance act, with Loew's for two years, and later with the Keith circuit, for four years.
In April, 1942, aged 29, the twins opened the "Mary-Margaret Gift Shoppe" at their home on Portland St. They ran the shop, selling cards, novelties, vases, gift items and baby clothes they' made themselves, until March, 1949, when they sold the shop and home.
In 1930 they went to Europe and appeared in Paris, Brussels - and Switzerland (hence
their voyage on the Majestic). Four years later they
joined Ringling Brothers Circus, and in 1938 they toured with Cole Brothers
for a year. Then they returned to Ringling for a year and retired in 1941
alter a final year with Cole Brothers.
During their vaudeville and circus life, the twins' parents travelled with them and, between seasons, they continued to make their home here, at 14 Portland St., the family residence for 29 years.
Were displayed on Coney Island (David Rosen's side show on the Bowery) in the 1930s . Unfortunately, the twins were underage (13 at the time) and a court battle for their right to be displayed ensued. The S.P.C.C. lost the case when it was proved that their Father had custodial rights
At that time the family moved to 33 King St. and, in later years, they lived at 16 Westfield Rd. and 264 Sergeant St.
Having left the "limelight" the girls returned to Holyoke in 1941 where they opened a Gift shop however in 1949 they closed the shop and disappeared from public view other than the journey to and from their Church. They persued their main interests of knitting and watching television.
For about the last three years they had made their home with their. Mother and sister, Mrs Dorothy Havens, at 54 Lawler St. address. The last years of their lives were spent in near-seclusion.
Mary R. and Margaret S. Gibb Sunday afternoon (29th August 1967) at Holyoke Hospital, where they had been patients since Dec. 30. Their physician being Dr. John F. Appel The hospital said Margaret died at 12:35 p.m. and Mary two minutes later at 12:37 p.m.
They had been listed in fair condition at the hospital until Thursday, when they were placed on the danger list.
Cancer was listed as the cause of death for the twins who at 54 were believed to be the oldest living Siamese twins in the World. Dr. John F. Appel was attending Physician. An autopsy showed that Margaret had died of cancer of the bladder, which spread through their common circulatary system to the lungs of both sisters. The twins also suffered from hypertensive heart disease. They were buried in theForestdale Cemetry Holyoke.
Apparently there is a small clip of film of the Gibbs in a film called
"She Freaks"
(ABOVE) The Gibb Sisters under the name of Giglio.
My thanks to James
Mundie.
Acknowledgements:-
Earlyphotos for a copy of the postcard
"GIBB SISTERS, FAMED SIAMESE TWINS, DEAD" newspaper article written
by PAT DELO
Holyoke Public Library for the article and newspaper picture.
Coney
Island sideshows
Twinstuff
Circus World Museum
Received this email (regarding a spelling mistake...
Hello. I am their great-niece and would like to point out to you that their sister's name was Dorothy Havens. Thank you.
Jennifer (Havens) Headley
Unfortunately I did not correct the mistake quickly enough and received this....
You know, you say thank you but you don't seem to be too interested in making sure you have the right information. I have found out that my mother has also informed you of the discrepency and you have neglected to change it. Do you not believe us or what? Personally, I find this very insulting to my family that you would continue to let misinformation stay online. I was going to inquire if my father would like to speak to you considering he was their only nephew and they doted on him, but I am beginning to rethink that. If you are going to post information online about my great-aunts, I would appreciate you making sure you have the correct information to begin with. And for your information, this is not a joke. I would never pretend to be related to someone that I am not and you can rest assured that they are, in fact, truly my relatives. I am just happy that my grandmother is no longer alive to see this misinformation being posted about her sisters!
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This page was last updated on Saturday October 14, 2006