Millie and Christine McKoy (1851-1912)

Born to North Carolina slaves, conjoined twins Millie and Christine McKoy were joined at the hip and shared a part of their spine. Sold to a Southern exhibitor for a colossal $30,000, the girls were billed as the “Two-Headed Nightingale” because of their remarkable singing talents. In P. T. Barnum’s show they became the best-paid human exhibit, earning over $600 a week plus expenses. After the Civil War, Millie and Christine bought the plantation on which they were born and built a home there. Millie and Christine performed all across the U.S. as well as Europe. They so delighted Queen Victoria that she presented them with jewelry.