Edward Frederick Babbage:
the story of "Phat Boy"

     Quite likely the area's first tour guide, I am picturing a stout, Humpty Dumpty of a figure entertaining as W.C. Fields might have, or perhaps Jackie Gleason, adding humor along the way and capturing everyone's attention.

     Phat Boy kept this up for many years and never settled down along the river. I found a photo of him, with his family, his wife and daughter, that was taken in Ottawa. Perhaps where they lived. At one time he lived at the Marsden House in Alexandria Bay and in other establishments in the village. He set up a “house’ next to the Cornwall Brothers Store and dubbed himself the “Bureau of Information.” Every day, the steamers came in with their passengers to the Cornwall dock and he answered hundreds of questions regarding the Thousand Islands.

     The sign on his ‘house’ (just a large square wooden box if you look at the photos) advertised all kinds of hotel services. ‘Rooms secured by wire without extra charge for the following named hotels, St. Lawrence Hall – Montreal, St. Louis Hotel – Quebec, Hotel Champlain – Bluff Point, Lake View House – Ausable Chasm, The Sagamore – Lake George, Adelphi-Saratoga Kenmore Hotel – Albany, Murray Hill, Grand Union and Grand Central – New York, Niagara Hotel – Buffalo, International & Spencer, Niagara Falls, Queens Hotel – Toronto.

     He could be found standing next to this advertising, wearing a knee-length black overcoat, a clean white shirt and bow tie, his diamond pin, and black felt wide-brimmed hat. Often he carried a brass-knobbed cane. He had maps describing excursions and created some of his own. One was called “Phat Boy’s Ramble Among the Islands." This was piloted by The Islander, and he hustled the tour along the waterfront. At this point, his weight topped 330 pounds, but he did not let that intimidate his customers. He was courteous and obliging to all patrons regardless of social status. He also ran a popular “Illumination Excursion” on the New Island Wanderer every Saturday leaving Clayton at 7 pm and ending in Alexandria Bay. He was full of tales from his experiences with the public through minstrel tours and along the docks. His humor was well known and welcomed by all.

     In addition to all of his other accomplishments, he also found time to write. The first book was The Phat Boys, then came The Phat Boy's Delineations of the St. Lawrence River, The Phat Boy's Racy Description of the St. Lawrence River and its Environes: A Guide for the Tourist and Traveler, then The Phat Boy's 15 Years on the St. Lawrence River: The People I have Met and the Things I have Seen. Each year, he wrote a new copy with a new title and sold thousands of them to his followers for 25 cents each.       As always, each edition was loaded with humor. He also wrote of encounters with famous people, many  of whom sought him out for his own fame as a guide. Among them were President Ulysses Grant, George Pullman, Mark Twain, Sir John A. MacDonald and members of various royal families. Others too numerous to mention were captains of industry, including many who owned St. Lawrence River islands that were part of his tours.

     In 1891 he purchased a lot at Palisaides Park, a new development at the foot of Murray Isle, near The Narrows and was ready to settle on the river. On Tuesday, June 24, 1891 he left his ‘house’ by the Cornwall Brothers Store and headed for the Marsden House, telling his staff he was ill.  Upon entering the lobby, he told the desk clerk he did not feel well and was going to retire to his room. He whistled his way up the stairs and stopped abruptly at the top. He called to the clerk, asked him to call for a doctor immediately, and collapsed. Before the doctor could arrive, he was gone at the age of 51. Flags were lowered to half-staff along the river in his honor. Sadly, he never started building his home on Murray Isle. His daughter arrived and tried to take over his business, but his shoes were too big to fill. She did not succeed and the business closed.

     Such was the life of Edward Frederick Babbage, the larger than life character known to most as Phat Boy. I have not read his books, and we do not have copies in the museum. I looked and found that these books are still available through Amazon and Thriftbooks. If you have any information or questions send them to info@alexandria historical.com. If you have a story you think I should tell, I would be interested to hear that also.  

                                                                 Teri Bruno, Executive Director of the Cornwall Brothers Museum