Identical twins to celebrate 100th birthday in Georgia on Saturday

COLUMBUS, GA (WAGA) - A milestone birthday celebration taking place this weekend will be twice as special for a Georgia family.

Mary Shipp Harrow and Martha Shipp Averett are identical twins. They were born on July 2, 1916 and on Saturday they will be celebrating their 100th birthday... together!

The Shipp twins grew up in Cusseta, in Chattahooche County, and are the oldest of eight children.

Mary was married to the late Isaac Daniel Harrow, Sr. and together they had seven kids. She has 21 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Martha was married to the late Jessie Averett, Sr. and together they had ten children. She has 21 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.

To say the least, the Shipps have a very large family. Between the two elderly sisters, that's a total of 114 grandkids!

Both twins are still "dedicated and faithful" members of their churches.

On Saturday, a centennial celebration will take place in Columbus with more than 300 family members, friends and elected officials expected to attend.

"This is a very special occasion for our family and we are blessed, honored and excited for my mother and aunt as they approach their 100th birthday," said Mary's youngest daughter Gerri Jones. "They are strong women of faith and they have touched so many lives during their lifetime!"

Jones told us on Wednesday that they are all very excited about the upcoming birthday party.

Statistics show the odds of identical twins living to celebrate their 100th birthday are about one in 700 million.