Who was Georgie Titus?

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

While reading author Max Braithwaite's book Sick Kids: the Story of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto several years ago, Linda Rosenbaum came across a paragraph that grabbed her attention and stayed with her. That paragraph was a brief mention of a child from Uxbridge called Georgie Titus.

Rosenbaum began extensive research to find out more about Georgie and his amazing story. However, it was difficult to find out much about the boy and his family other than the fact that he did exist and his story was true. But the lack of details led Rosenbaum to write Georgie's story as a piece of fiction based on fact.

Cosmos publisher Lisha Van Nieuwenhove, right, chats with “Let’s Go, Darby” author Linda Rosenbaum, at Blue Heron Studio. Photo by John Cavers

In brief, Georgie was born with what is known as a club foot. In 1898, at the age of 10, Georgie set out alone from Uxbridge on a sled pulled by his dog and travelled to the Hospital for Sick Children to get treatment for his feet.

His story is now out in Rosenbaum's book called Let's Go, Darby, illustrated by Barbara Klunder.

At a book launch at Blue Heron Books on Saturday, Rosenbaum said she was reading Braithwaite's book because she lives on Toronto Island where the Hospital for Sick Children had a summer home for children who were patients at the hospital. That's when she found the paragraph and wondered how Georgie's journey was even possible.

Rosenbaum said it was hard to track the route Georgie followed, but since the Toronto-Nipissing Railway ran through Uxbridge at the time, she figured he might have followed the train tracks.

"There were so many questions about his journey," Rosenbaum said, but added she was "very frustrated" that her research was unable to uncover more details. She did get a copy of Georgie's birth certificate and she reached out to the Uxbridge Heritage Centre for whatever information they might have, but was unable to find anything more about the Titus family other than the fact that George Titus died at the age of 52 in 1935 and is buried in an Uxbridge cemetery.

But Rosenbaum believed the story should be told and decided to turn it into a work of fiction. However, she said all the child characters in the book are based on actual children who were at the Hospital for Sick Children at the time. Her research uncovered lots of photographs from that era showing the children being transported to the summer home on Toronto Island for some convalescence.

Asked if the book as a children's book or for adults, Rosenbaum said it is for both.

"Some adults have cried and children liked it." she said.

If you want to know what happened to Darby and Georgie after they reached the hospital, you'll have to read the book! It’s available to purchase at Blue Heron Books.