During the early decades of the 20th century, Thomas Edward “Tommy” Justice and Laura Effie Justice (née Searcy) of Henderson County, North Carolina, welcomed 14 children — including a set of triplets.
Here are the names of all 14 siblings:
- Curtis Edward (born in 1900)
- Sidney Thomas (b. 1902)
- Dessie M. (b. 1904)
- Bessie Martha (b. 1904)
- Essie Margaret (b. 1904)
- Lula Belle (b. 1906)
- unnamed son (b. 1908)
- William Leonard (b. 1909)
- James Arthur (b. 1911)
- Anna May (b. 1914)
- Fred (b. 1917)
- Mary Sue (b. 1919)
- Laura Lee (b. 1921)
- George Washington (b. 1924)
Dessie, Bessie, and Essie were born in the family’s log cabin on March 16, 1904.
As children, Dessie and Bessie looked a lot alike, but Essie stood out because she “was the runt,” according to Dessie.
Dessie also noted that all three of them were “bashful” as youngsters:
We were entered in baby shows and attracted a lot of attention since we were triplets, but we didn’t like it. We would run and hide under the bed when people came to take our pictures. They would have to drag us to the shows and feed us ice cream behind the curtain to keep us at the show.
Speaking of Dessie…I wasn’t able to track down her middle name. What do you think Dessie’s middle initial, “M.,” might have stood for?
Sources:
- “The Henderson County Triplets.” Charlotte Evening Chronicle 10 Sept. 1910: 4.
- Yelton, Rose W. “Triplets Observe Their 75th Birthday.” Asheville Times 24 Mar. 1979: 3.
- Thomas Edward Justice (1873-1943) – Find a Grave
Image: Clipping from Spirit of Missions magazine (Sept. 1911)
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