Evening star., 1909-06-26
OLDEST TRIPLETS IN WORLD
GIBBS BROTHERS OF NORTH
CAROLINA CLAIM THE TITLE.
Years Old and Hale
and Hearty Representative
Cowles Sponsor for Statement.

Representative Charles II. CoWleS Of
North Carolina. who is proud of his state
and jealous of the achievements of her
sons and daughters, read of the Win
decker triplets, who recently celebrated
their sixty-first birthday at Byron, Wis.
and for whom the people of that state
claim the distinction of being the oldest
living triplets in the world. lie claims,
and is willing TO substantiate his state
ments oyer his own signature, that this
honor rightfully belongs to North Caro-
ina, three of whose sons. the Gibbs
brothers. were born May ., 1893, and are
still hale and hearty veterans of the
southern army Each has large family
and several grandchildren.
Representative Cowles says:
North Carolina is the greatest state
in the Union and her people are proud
or her history and jealous of the Slorl-
Gus achievements of her illustrious sons
1t was on North Carolina soil that the
first white child born in America-Vir-
ginia Dare-waS born; the patriots of
MecklenburS were the first to formally
and openly defy the British crown; she
furnished more soldiers for the civil war
than any other southern state and sur
rendered at it's close twice many guns.
and on the monuments which are erected
to the memory of her Confederate dead
she proudly writes the inscription First
al Bethel, farthest at Gettysburg and
last at AppomattoX. The war is over
and our people have accepted and are
satisfied with the result and do not yield
to the people of any of her sister states
north, east or west. in their national
spirit and pride and in their devotion
to the flag of their fathers. Our people
do not practice race suicide, have never
practiced it, and the result is a strong
healthy population, morally and physical
ly. 1t is not unusual to see families
in which there are ten and twelve chill
dren, and l have heard of as many as
twenty-one children in one family Wilkes
county, North Carolina, is the native
county of the Gibbs triplets. the oldest
living triplets in the world. They are
thirteen years, one month and seven days
Older than the Windecker triplets, who
recently celebrated their sixty-first birth
day at Byron, Wis.
The Gibbs triplets were born in Wilkes
boro. N. c., May =, 1888. and are now
in their seventy seventh year Their
names are William Washington Gibbs
now living at 113 Rawson street, Atlanta
Ga: Robert Jackson Gibbs and Thomas
Lafayette Gibbs, who reside at
Boomer, Wilkes county, N c.. within
few miles of the town in which they
were born. They are all hale and hearty
and enjoy unusual good health for men
OF their ages, considering, too that they
fought through a greater part of the
early and, shoulder to shoulder as mem
bers of the same company. fought
throughout the entire conflict Though
one OF them is separated from
the other two. they keep in close
touch and constant communication and
are very much devoted to one another.
They are all married and each has sew
eral children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren. Their immediate an
cestors on both their fathers and
mothers side are long-lived, their mother
dying just a few years ago at the age
of about ninety. Their fathers name
was Thomas. He was a halter by trade.
Their mother was named Margaret. Aunt
Caroline Grinton, colored, now living at
Wilkesboro, n. C., who is probably about
ninety years old, claims to have nursed
the triplets when they We're ba abies. For
several years they have claimed to be
the oldest living triplets, and have not
only successfully maintained this claim.
but, SO far is known. they are the
/ oldest triplets that have ever lived.