Editing Chang and Eng Bunker (section)

==<span class="anchor" id="Settling and later years"></span>Settling and later years (1839–1874)==

[[File:Chang Eng Bunker portrait, 1846.jpg|thumb|Portrait in the [[English art#18th and 19th centuries|English style]], 1846]]

===Traphill===

The final setting for Chang and Eng's on-and-off 1829–1839 tour was held in [[Jefferson, North Carolina]], on July 3 and 4, 1839. According to a family friend, their move to [[Wilkes County, North Carolina|Wilkes County]], in the northwest of the state, allowed them to "engage in chasing stag and catching trout ... to enjoy the recreation which they had desired to find far away from the hurrying crowds."{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=78}} In October 1839, they purchased {{convert|150|acres}} for $300, {{inflation|US|300|1839|fmt=eq}}, near the rural community of [[Traphill, North Carolina|Traphill]], in mountainous northeast Wilkes County. The tract runs along Little Sandy Creek, near the [[Roaring River (North Carolina)|Roaring River]].{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=76, 81–83}}

They soon became well acquainted with members of elite Wilkes society, including James Calloway and Robert C. Martin, both physicians; Abner Carmichael, the county sheriff; and James W. Gwyn Jr., the county's [[North Carolina Superior Court|superior court]] clerk. Charles Harris, their former manager, relocated with them, and he became the Traphill postmaster.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=79–81}}{{refn|group=nb|In October 1839 Harris wed Frances "Fannie" Baugus, daughter of Robert Baugus, who had helped the twins with living arrangements when they first arrived in Wilkes. In November 1840, Fanny's older brother Samuel married Letha Yates, daughter of David and Nancy Yates and older sister to the twins' future wives. Thus Chang and Eng would become related to Harris by marriage. {{harvnb|Orser|2014|pp=85–86, 88}}.}} The month they bought the land, the twins (as well as Irish-born Harris) became [[Citizenship of the United States#Naturalized citizenship|naturalized citizens]]. Gwyn administered their oath of allegiance; despite a [[Naturalization Act of 1790|federal law from 1790]] restricting naturalization to "free white persons", citizenship was a matter generally governed by local attitudes.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=81–82}}{{refn|group=nb|According to Orser, "The twins were applying in a county that had very few immigrants and no other Asians, in a region whose color line was drawn decisively between white and black, in a court where they had been neighbors with the man administering the oaths [Gwyn]." {{harvnb|Orser|2014|p=82}}.}}{{refn|group=nb|On race, Wu concludes Chapter 1, "Labor and Ownership in the American South", thusly (paraphrased): The Bunkers were [[Asian Americans]]; they could circumvent many ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' restrictions on other nonwhites, however. Most of their interaction with other nonwhites was when they were in the role of slaveholders. "These tensions on interconnectedness and partition, on multiple levels, constitute the numerous contradictions the Bunkers present to the complicated landscape of American culture." {{harvnb|Wu|2012|pp=34–35}}.}}

A home on Chang and Eng's Traphill land was constructed in 1840.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=109}} The brothers would buy foodstuffs from Wilkes slaveholders and trade dry goods with their neighbors. They also bought slaves and hired several women as housekeepers; the twins' first slave was named "Aunt" Grace Gates.{{sfnm|Orser|2014|1p=84|Huang|2018|2p=239 (Gates)}} Prosperous from touring, they displayed their wealth through elegant house decorations; by the early 1840s, their property was the third-most valuable in the county at $1,000, {{inflation|US|1,000|1840|fmt=eq}}.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=84}} Settled, they planned to stop exhibiting for good, content to live in Traphill. The [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] newspaper ''[[Carolina Watchman]]'' of [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]] called them "genuine Whigs", and the ''[[Boston Transcript]]'' reported that they were "happy as lords".{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=85, 221}}

{{Quote box|quote=[On Chang and Eng:] It is a phenomenon, not, perhaps, to be witnessed again in the Country, to see Asiatics transformed to good American citizens, not only in language but in feeling. They have lost every vestige of their native tongue. In fact, they speak English fluently, and almost without foreign accent. A few words seem to be impracticable, but they are chatty and communicative, and hence their perfection in our language. They are altogether American in feeling.|source=''Raleigh Register''<br />April 13, 1853{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=105}}|align=right|width=30em}}

In 1840, a profile of the twins in the ''Tennessee Mirror'' made clear the twins' intentions to marry. Many newspapers regularly joked about this, discouraging their marriage not just with objections over the twins' disability but also because of their race.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=89–93}} Nevertheless, on April 13, 1843, [[Baptist]] preacher Colby Sparks officiated the weddings between Eng and Sarah Yates, and between Chang and Adelaide Yates. Though national (mainly Northern) newspapers generally condemned the marriages, there was probably little local reaction except purported vandalism of Sarah and Adelaide's parents' house the night before the wedding.{{sfnm|Orser|2014|1pp=94–101|Wu|2012|2p=4}}{{refn|group=nb|Orser notes that the narrative about protesters smashing the twins' windows because of their marriage was most likely introduced in Kay Hunter's 1964 popular biography ''Duet for a Lifetime''; she "did not disclose her sources for this specific detail". {{harvnb|Orser|2014|p=95}}.}} The Bunkers would prominently feature their marriages when they went back on tour later in life.{{sfn|Bogdan|1990|p=204}}

By the late 1840s, the twins spoke English fluently, had voted, and had filed criminal charges against several white people.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=105–106}} They had also adopted the English-language surname ''Bunker'', in honor of a woman whom they met in New York and admired.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=112}} Continued newspaper coverage, as visitors flocked to their Traphill home, established their place as national celebrities; and they felt themselves to be Americans.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=105–106}} The Bunkers carved a unique place in Americans' [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|perception of race]]—they were considered nonwhite but were afforded many of the privileges of white people, being fairly wealthy Southern slaveholders with property rights.{{sfnm|Orser|2014|1p=132|Wu|2012|2p=35}}

===Mount Airy===
[[File:Chang & Eng Bunker with 18 children and slave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Bunkers, wives, 18 children, and the first of their slaves, Grace Gates]]
On March 1, 1845, the Bunkers bought a plot of {{convert|650|acres}} in [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]]. They had a home built—at first just for part-time use—about {{convert|5|miles|0}} south of [[Mount Airy, North Carolina|Mount Airy]], along Stewart's Creek.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=109}} The twins amassed wealth during the late 1840s and 1850s and lived in luxury as [[Plantations in the American South|plantation owners]]. In 1850, it was estimated that they had invested $10,000 in property in North Carolina, {{inflation|US|10000|1850|fmt=eq}}. Meanwhile, they had a merchant in New York who managed another $60,000 for importing, {{inflation|US|60000|1850|fmt=eq}}, and they lived off the interest.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=110–112}}

For about a decade they split their time between Mount Airy and Traphill because their families had grown large; by 1847 Adelaide had given birth to four children; Sarah, to three.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=109}} They would maintain the Traphill residence through 1853; later their time was divided solely between two homes located around Mount Airy.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=110}} Then for the next decades, the twins would alternate which house they used, three days at a time; the twin who owned the current house could elect to do whatever he wanted while his brother complied and kept silent.{{sfn|Wu|2012|p=40}}

In 1850, ten of their 18 slaves were under the age of seven, some being owned only to be sold later for profit, and others growing up to work the fields. The Bunker plantations produced wheat, rye, corn, oats, and potatoes, and they raised cows, sheep, and pigs. Unlike families that owned many North Carolina farms, the Bunkers did not grow tobacco, which may suggest that their plantation was run primarily to feed the Bunker family and its slaves, not for commercial purposes.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=126}} The press characterized the Bunkers' treatment of slaves as particularly harsh, though the twins decried accusations of cruelty and said that their wives supervised the slaves and raised money for their education.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=127}}{{refn|group=nb|For instance, the ''Greensborough Patriot'' wrote: "In driving a horse or chastising their negroes, both of them [the Bunkers] use the lash without mercy. A gentleman who purchased a black man, a short time ago, from them, informed the writer he was 'the worst whipped negro' he ever saw." Chang and Eng replied quickly: "That portion of said piece relating to the inhuman manner in which we had chastized a negro man which we afterwards sold is a sheer fabrication and infamous falsehood." {{harvnb|Orser|2014|p=127}}.}}

Though the Bunkers were generally part of the region's aristocracy, some of their practices set them apart. They were occasionally seen performing manual labor; their method of chopping wood was particularly effective: they would wield an axe with all four hands, for more force, or would rapidly alternate turns swinging. They continued recreational hunting, and they took up fishing, drinking, and several sports.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=113–114}}

===Return to touring===

[[File:ChangandEngLithograph(1860).jpg|thumb|right|Lithograph of "The World Renowned United Siamese Twins", [[Currier and Ives]], New York City, 1860]]

Partial retirement ended up not suiting the Bunkers, and they sought to resume touring for what they called financial reasons: they said they needed to earn more money to support their then-seven children. They traveled to New York City in 1849 with daughters Katherine and Josephine, both aged five, but the brief tour petered out because of poor management, and they returned to North Carolina. Advertisements had described them as "The Living Siamese Twins Chang-Eng and Their Children".{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=137}}

They conducted a successful year-long tour in 1853, again bringing two children (Christopher and Katherine). They again justified the tour by saying their motivation was to raise money to support their (by this point, 11) children's education.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=137}} On this tour, viewings were like [[levee (ceremony)|levee]]s and were not elaborate, as the twins and their children usually sat, spoke, and mingled with the audience. Chang and Eng wore American suits and spoke in English about their marriages and families, and they also showed off their wit and political knowledge.{{sfnm|Orser|2014|1p=140|Bogdan|1990|2pp=115–116}} They appeared educated and polite, according to biographer Joseph Andrew Orser, and "might have appeared as a distinguished southern family on display except for the fact that no family of distinction would exhibit itself to the public."{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=118}}

In early October 1860 they signed with famed showman [[P. T. Barnum]] for a month and exhibited in [[Barnum's American Museum]] in New York City. Alongside [[Zip the Pinhead]], they performed for several distinguished guests, including [[Edward VII|the Prince of Wales]]; in 1868, they would briefly tour with Zip in the British Isles.{{sfnm|Orser|2014|1p=141|Wu|2012|2p=16}} Contrary to popular belief, Barnum did not create the Bunkers' careers; in fact, they were competitors in the entertainment business and the twins had already become world-famous from their own tours.{{sfn|Wu|2012|pp=1, 16–17}} The brothers and Barnum did not like each other, and the twins rejected Barnum's offer of a longer, countrywide tour.{{sfn|Nickell|2005|p=124}}

They departed New York City on November 12, 1860, and took steamships and crossed Panama by train to arrive in San Francisco on December 6.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=141}} Californians at the time were in the midst of figuring out how to deal with a recent influx of Chinese immigrants, and the arrival of the Bunkers (as well as two of Eng's sons, Patrick and Montgomery) was put in the spotlight. As usual, Chang and Eng were favorably received by audiences with whom they spoke, though reports of their performances in California took various perspectives on their race and nationality. Newspapers called them "[[yellow people|yellow]]" but also the "greatest of living curiosities" who had "made much noise in the world, and are certainly worth seeing".{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=144–145}} They left California on February 11, 1861, by which time seven states had [[Secession in the United States|seceded]] from the United States, sparking the [[American Civil War]]. The Bunkers likely returned to their Mount Airy homes by April—after gunfire had begun in South Carolina, but before North Carolina seceded on May 20.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=145–146}}

===Civil War metaphor===

[[File:The political "Siamese" twins, the offspring of Chicago miscegenation LCCN2003674598.jpg|thumb|right|"The Political 'Siamese' Twins, the Offspring of Chicago Miscegenation":<br />This cartoon objects to the 1864 Democratic ticket that combined two men with differing views: [[George H. Pendleton|George Pendleton]] opposed the Civil War; [[George B. McClellan|George McClellan]] did not support a ceasefire.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=154–156}}]]

Throughout the Civil War, the twins' conjoined state served in several metaphors.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=145–146}} In July 1860, the ''Louisville Journal'' chided divisions in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] by making the twins out to represent rival factions within the party, split on the extent to which slavery should be federally protected. The Bunker brothers were long-time supporters of the Whig Party, however, and a neighbor wrote to ''[[The Fayetteville Observer]]'' that they "are not now and never have been Democrats [and] they say they never expect to be Democrats". This neighbor also said that in the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election]]  both twins supported the Tennessean [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]] of the [[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]], a candidate popular in northwestern North Carolina whose platform included both support of slavery and of preservation of the union.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=147–148}}

More prominently, many newspapers fictitiously wrote that Chang and Eng were at odds with each other on the issue of secession, personifying fears of sectional violence.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=149–150}}{{refn|group=nb|For instance, the ''St. Louis Republican'' fictitiously (it included the caveat that it "does not vouch for its truth") wrote that disagreements between the Bunker brothers had escalated to their killing each other's children. {{harvnb|Orser|2014|p=149}}.}} The ''[[New-York Tribune]]'' ran a colorful allegory that claimed to be an account of a dispute between the twins while they were at Barnum's American Museum. It says that Chang, the quarrelsome one, wants the ligament connecting them to be painted black (signifying the key issue of slavery) but that Eng does not. Chang says that his "union" with Eng is to be "dissolved", while a "Dr. Lincoln" {{bracket|[[President Lincoln]]}} reasons that a separation surgery would be "dangerous for both parties"".{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=148}} According to Orser, "The united brothers had become symbols of the American union and the promise it offered to its citizens."{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=151}}

===Final years===

[[File:Chang and Eng, the Siamese twins, in evening dress. Colour w Wellcome V0010478.jpg|thumb|right|After the Civil War, Northerners received the "Wonderful & World Renowned" twins much more poorly than before.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=161}}]]

By the time the Civil War ended in 1865, the twins' finances had suffered (they had lent money that was repaid in worthless [[Confederate States dollar|Confederate currency]]) and their slaves were emancipated, so they decided to resume touring. Northern audiences at this point were not so receptive to the twins—for they had been Confederate slaveholders—so during tours they sympathetically presented themselves as old men, with many children, who only reluctantly supported their state over country and who each had a son hurt in the war, one injured and one captured (serving in the [[Confederate States Army]]).{{sfnm|Orser|2014|1pp=158–161, 167 (for parenthetical)|Wu|2012|2pp=4–5}} Newspapers disparagingly wrote that the twins had lost "a considerable number of slaves of about the same color of themselves" and claimed that the twins were taking advantage of their audience.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=161}}

Chang and Eng made a trip to Britain in 1868–69, seeing physicians and chatting in exhibition; their last visit there had been over 30 years before. Chang's daughter Nannie, who had never before been far from home, and Eng's daughter Kate, both in their 20s, came on the trip, from North Carolina to [[Baltimore]] and New York, then across the Atlantic to [[Liverpool]] and into rural Scotland, later going to [[Manchester]].{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=162–165}}

In 1870, Chang, Eng, and two sons went to Germany and Russia; they wanted to further explore Europe, but returned home to avoid the developing [[Franco-Prussian War]]. On the ship back home, Chang's right side (toward Eng) became paralyzed after he suffered a stroke, and they effectively retired, as Eng cared for Chang. The Bunker estate in 1870 was worth $30,000 in total, {{inflation|US|30000|1870|fmt=eq}}—two-thirds belonging to Chang.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=171}}

===Family===

{{For|the Bunkers' ancestry|#In Siam}}

[[File:BunkerFamilies(1865).jpg|thumb|right|Family portrait by [[Mathew Brady]], {{nowrap|{{circa}} 1865}}: (L–R) Sarah, her son Patrick Henry, Eng, Chang, his son Albert, Adelaide]]

Sarah Yates Bunker was born on December 18, 1822, the fourth child and second daughter of David and Nancy Yates.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=88}} Sometimes called "Mrs. Eng", she was seen as the simpler sister and, uneducated, lived frugally and was a capable chef. She was also described as the "more portly, fair one".{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=112–113, 227}}

Adelaide Yates Bunker, or "Mrs. Chang", was born on October 11, 1823.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=88}} Taller and thinner than her older sister, she was said to have "excelled in personal beauty" and to have possessed a more refined taste. It was said that both Chang and Eng favored Sarah; according to a contemporary newspaper, however, "To any but an oriental taste, [Adelaide] was much the prettiest, being, in fact, a handsome and showy brunette."{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=112–113, 227}}

Both sisters outlived their husbands; Sarah died at age 69 on April 29, 1892.{{sfn|Quigley|2012|p=39}} Adelaide died at age 93 on May 21, 1917.{{sfn|Quigley|2012|p=39}}

Chang's and Eng's first children were born within six days of each other: Sarah gave birth to Katherine Marcellus on February 10, 1844; Adelaide, to Josephine Virginia on February 16. One set of cousins was born eight days apart: Chang's son Christopher and Eng's daughter Julia. Altogether, Chang and Adelaide had ten children and Eng and Sarah had eleven; in total, there were twelve daughters and nine sons; two children were deaf, two died from burns before the age of three and none were born as twins.{{sfn|Orser|2014|pp=135–136}}

The twins occasionally attended church with their wives.{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=133}} Their children were for some time formally educated, and generally they were seen favorably; a profile of Chang and Eng said the children represented "a credit to their parents and the community in which they live".{{sfn|Orser|2014|p=138}}

{{As of|2006}}, descendants of Chang and Eng's 21 children number about 1,500.{{sfn|Newman|2006|p=1}} Much of the extended family still lives in western North Carolina, and the family has hosted annual get-togethers since the 1980s, usually on the last Saturday of June.{{sfnm|Wu|2012|1p=146|Orser|2014|p=199 (for parenthetical)}} Chang's descendants include grandson [[Caleb V. Haynes]], an [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] [[Major general (United States)|major general]], and his son [[Vance Haynes]], an archaeologist; great-granddaughter [[Alex Sink]], former [[Chief Financial Officer of Florida]] and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Florida]] in 2010;{{sfn|Wu|2012|p=151}} and great-great-granddaughter [[Caroline Shaw]], a composer and the 2013 [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]] recipient.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vogue.it/en/uomo-vogue/people-stars/2013/10/caroline-shaw|title=Caroline Shaw, the Pulitzer girl|work=[[Vogue Italia]]|date=November 1, 2013|last=Medetti|first=Stefania|access-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719113619/https://www.vogue.it/en/uomo-vogue/people-stars/2013/10/caroline-shaw|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Eng's descendants include grandson George F. Ashby, president of the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] in the 1940s.<ref>{{Klein-UP-2|page=437}}</ref> The Bunker pedigree contains 11 sets of twins, none conjoined; the first set of twins, Eng's great-grandsons, were also named Chang and Eng.{{sfn|Newman|2006|p=2}}