The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins (53 page)
Read The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins Online
Authors: Dean Jensen
3.
Business so boomed: correspondence with Roger Davey, County Archives of East Sussex, England, June 27, 1995.
4.
“Daisy’s lower right leg was twisted slightly”: Edith Myer, “Decision In Siamese Twins Receivership Case Due Today,”
San Antonio Express
, January 21, 1931.
5.
“When we were turned loose”: Daisy and Violet,
Lives and Loves
, op. cit.
6.
“She never petted or kissed us or even smiled:” ibid.
7.
“I am not your mother:” Mary Hilton quoted by Daisy and Violet,
Lives and Loves
. Op. cit.
8.
“About her waist was a wide leather belt”: ibid.
9.
“We were pinched and prodded and probed”: ibid.
10.
After examining X-rays of the twins: J. Rooth, op. cit.
Pages 27–431.
Correspondence with D. Patrick, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Scotland, April 24, 1996.
2.
“Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years in Show Business,” 121,
Billboard
, December 8, 1928, Subsequent citations will refer to “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years.”
3.
The American escapologist had been appearing in the Glasgow Coliseum: Frank Koval,
Illustrated Houdini Diary
. Oldham, England, 1992.
4.
“He himself always felt like an outsider”: Dr. Morris Young, New York, phone interview with author, October 23, 1995.
5.
Houdini’s excitement at his discovery: “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years,” op. cit.
6.
The Glaswegians, most of them boys and men: ibid.
7.
The grotesque clump: untitled,
Duluth News Tribune
, undated.
8.
“The future groom will have”: Signor Saltarino in Frederick Drimmer,
Very Special People
. New York: Atheneum, 1988, 67.
9.
He signed them for a reported $10,000 yearly: “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years,” op. cit.
10.
Two of the prettiest children he ever saw: ibid.
11.
Ike Rose, “The Story of Saharet,” 35–36.
Theatre Magazine
, May 1, 1914.
12.
Over and over, Rose repeated his knack:
Billboard
, December 3, 1921.
13.
“Teach the girls the hard way”: Mary Hilton cited in
Lives and Loves
. Op. cit.
14.
The year 1911 was the last: correspondence with Roger Davey, County Archives of East Sussex, England, June 27, 1995.
15.
“He thought we should go to religious services”: Daisy and Violet,
Lives and Loves
, op. cit.
16.
“The theater thundered with applause”: ibid.
17.
“It will be a worthwhile and interesting experiment”: Dr. Bochheimer, ibid.
18.
“The girls belong to me”: Mary Hilton, ibid.
19.
“We lived in dingy … boarding houses”: Daisy and Violet,
World News
, op. cit.
20.
He found he could not: “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years,” op. cit.
21.
Rose’s road expenses may have decreased: death certificate for Henry Hilton, Leipzig, Germany, May 5, 1912.
22.
“We appeared before the public”: Daisy and Violet,
World News
, op. cit.
23.
At the same time things were unraveling: 37,
Theatre Magazine
, May 1, 1914.
24.
“The upcoming fair prepares itself for a visit by Ike Rose”:
National Zeitung
, April 1, 1912.
25.
Rose may have regarded the wire: “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years,” op. cit.
Pages 44–561.
“Their peculiar malformation”: “Freak of Nature,” 19,
Argus
, Melbourne, Australia, February 8, 1913.
2.
Ibid.
3.
The descriptions of Luna Park St. Kilda are largely drawn from
Luna Park Just for Fun
, Luna Park Reserve Trust, Sydney, Australia, 1995—a scholarly but thoroughly entertaining book by Sam Marshall, an invaluable friend who generously provided copies of much of the original source material for his book and introduced the author to other scholars who have been helpful.
4.
Around 1904, he saw his first motion picture,
New York Times
, October 19, 1924, 9, section VIII.
5.
Despite the bad portents:
Luna Park Just for Fun
, op. cit.
6.
There was no stinting of hyperbole:
Table Talk Magazine
, Melbourne, Australia, February, 1913, and
Argus
, Melbourne, Australia, February 10–15, 1913.
7.
While Daisy and Violet had been given headline billing:
Melbourne Herald
, February 17, 1913.
8.
A principled businessman: “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years,” op. cit.
9.
According to
Billboard
: ibid.
10.
The show, a British company called Tiny Town: ibid.
11.
Birth certificate, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, obtained through professional genealogist, Wendy Baker, Victoria, Australia.
12.
“We need a man to travel with us”: Mary Hilton cited in
Lives and Loves
. Op. cit.
13.
“We took this to mean”: Daisy and Violet, ibid.
14.
And, as if to impress the twins: ibid.
15.
Having a troupe of midgets on his hands: “Ike Rose’s First Fifty Years,” op cit.
16.
By his account: ibid.
17.
Marriage certificate, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Melbourne, Australia, obtained through professional genealogist, Wendy Baker, Victoria, Australia.
18.
The ship on which the family was traveling: passengers list,
USS Sonoma
, June 21, 1916.
19.
“Maritime News,”
San Francisco Chronicle
, July 11, 1916.
20.
John Tomarces of Greece died: ibid.
Pages 57–68The author is grateful to a dear friend, Carol Ness of San Francisco, California, for calling attention to the difficulties Mary Hilton and Myer Myers had with U.S. Immigration Service in 1916.
1.
As Daisy and Violet cried hysterically: Myer Myers in letter dated March 14, 1936, to Clifford J. Williams, Sacramento, California, who appeared with the Woolworth Circus. Addressing Williams by the professional name of “J. Hass,” Myer discussed in detail the efforts by Immigration Service officials to block the twins’ entry into the United States. A copy of the letter was sent to the Reverend John Sills, Charlotte, North Carolina, January 7, 1969, by Williams’ wife, Florenza.
2.
United States Immigration Service manifest of alien passengers arriving at Angel Island, California, from Sydney, Australia, dated July 10, 1916.
3.
“Can you read, sir”: Myers, op. cit.
4.
“My advice, sir”: Immigration Service officer cited by Myers: ibid.
5.
The Myers, Mary, and the twins had been at sea:
San Francisco Chronicle
, July 11, 1916.
6.
“Them little girls”: Myers, op. cit.
7.
“Physically and biologically inferior”: ibid.
8.
“No, no, no”: Edith cited by Myers, ibid.
9.
“We have to be strong”: ibid.
10.
Mary was surprised when she entered the
Chronicle’s
news department: Myers letter, ibid.
11.
In part, the
Chronicle
account read: “Tie That Binds Them Seems No Bar to Earning a Living”:
San Francisco Chronicle
, July 14, 1916.
12.
He ordered the twins’ immediate release:
San Francisco Chronicle
and
San Francisco Examiner
, July 17, 1916.
13.
“The Modern Siamese Twins”: July 22, 1916.
14.
Myers didn’t have to wait long for a response:
Billboard
, July 29, 1916.
Pages 69–801.
“Like Toulouse-Lautrec, Napoleon and some of the other runts of history”: Joe McKennon, Sarasota, Florida, interview with author, Ringling Museum of Art, February 8, 1996.
2.
Long lines were queued:
Billboard
, December 23, 1916.
3.
“If he had his designs”: McKennon, op. cit.
4.
The crowd was still roaring:
Billboard
, October 17, 1916, 16.
5.
“Men and boys always outnumbered the female patrons”: McKennon, op. cit.
6.
Examination of copies,
Anaconda Standard
August, 1916, Hearst Free Library, Anaconda, Montana.
7.
After finishing the stand in Anaconda:
Billboard
, August 19, 1916, 28.
8.
“Making a hit all along the way”:
Billboard
, October 17, 1916, 35.
9.
“The Myers kept them isolated”: Moore, op. cit.
10.
“When you went into their tent”: ibid.
11.
“I want you to be the smartest Siamese twins”: Mary Hilton cited in
Lives and Loves
, op. cit.
12.
City of Phoenix, Arizona, residential directory, 1916.
Pages 81–103