Middlebush Giant

Routh Goshen, born Arthur James Caley (1824 – February 12, 1889) was most commonly known as Colonel Routh Goshen or the Arabian Giant or the Palestine Giant. He was billed as the tallest man in the world at 7 ft, 11 inches (2.41 m) and 620 pounds (280 kg) but was most likely no more than 7 ft, 5 inches (2.26 m) and 400 pounds (180 kg). His true origins were kept secret from the public during his performance years in the United States and were obscured by the many apocryphal biographies that were created to publicize him. His actual origins came out slowly after his death. His birth name was Arthur James Caley and he was born on the Isle of Man in 1824. His fictional biographies said he was born in Jerusalem on May 5, 1837. After his retirement in the 1880s, he settled in Middlebush, New Jersey, to Arthur Caley and Anne Kewley. He was baptized on November 16, 1824, in Lezayre parish. He was one of twelve children the couple had. His sister Margaret Caley, moved to New York. In his teens, he began to grow very tall and continued to grow into his 20s. In May 1851, Caley visited friends at Liverpool and news articles were published about his size. At that time, Caley was described as being 7 ft, 6 inches (2.28 m). Shortly afterwards, Caley exhibited himself in Manchester, then in London and eventually in Paris, France. In February 1853, Caley's mother received a letter saying her son had died on February 1 in Paris, shortly after a life insurance policy had been taken out for him by his manager Etienne Lefevre. It is not known what happened for the next several years of Caley's life. He eventually moved to the United States and adopted the name Colonel Routh Goshen.

Life as Colonel Routh Goshen

By at least 1859, Colonel Routh Goshen had already become known as the "Arabian Giant." By November 1863 he was being billed alongside Anna Swan, General Tom Thumb, and Commodore Nutt at Barnum's American Museum. He was described as being twenty-seven years old at the time and having been born in Jerusalem. He was reported to have settled for a time around 1869 on a farm in Algonquin, Illinois. In 1870 a semi-fictitious biography of his life was published entitled "The History of Palestine and the Present Condition of Old Jerusalem and the Life of Col. Routh Goshan". Another fictional biography described his history as:

This worthy descendant of the Brohdignagian race first saw the light of day forty three years ago in the city of Jerusalem, Palestine. He is of Hebrew and Turkish descent. At present he stands seven feet eleven inches in his stocking feet, weighs 635 pounds, measures ninety one inches around the chest and ninety five inches round the waist. His arms are the thickness of saplings and his fist possesses the ponderosity of the hammer of Thor. The Colonel served in several eventful campaigns. He was in the Turkish army at Jerusalem, and fought through the Crimean war, the war of Italian independence and the campaign of Maximillian in Mexico. ...

In 1876, he toured the United States with Commodore Nutt as part of the Lilliputian Comic Opera's performance of a version of the story of Jack the Giant Killer. In 1878, he toured the United States with P. T. Barnum's New and Greatest Show on Earth. He toured with Barnum's Circus again in 1879, 1880, and 1883. In Summer 1882, he performed at Atlantic City, New Jersey. In June 1884, Goshen helped advertise clothing for a clothing house in Chicago, known for having a gigantic selection. In the following years, he exhibited himself at several dime museums. In July 1888, a fire occurred at Goshen's farm near Middlebush that destroyed several buildings and his collection of memorabilia.

Personal life

He was married at least three times and divorced twice at the time of his death. In March 1859 in Massachusetts he married Clestina N. Townes of Montreal. Around 1869 he married Augusta White a German snake charmer that he met while traveling for his show. They settled near Clyde, New Jersey. She had met Goshen years earlier through her cousin, a fat lady who once toured with Goshen. After their marriage, they settled down in Middlebush, NJ. In August 1882, while working at Atlantic City, Goshen encountered John Sweet again. Goshen threatened to kill Sweet with a pistol he brandished, and then beat Sweet with a cane. At the time of the assault Sweet owned a farm in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Death and burial

He died at his farm on Amwell Road in Middlebush, New Jersey.

His funeral was described in the following manner:

The farm house of the dead giant was thronged with villagers long before the hour fixed for the funeral. The remains had been placed in a coffin eight feet long and three feet wide. It was covered with cloth and had been specially made for the deceased. After the funeral services were over the coffin was borne on the shoulder of eight sturdy farmers to a wagon which was standing in the road about from the house. Undertaker Van Duyn said he could not find a hearse large enough to hold the giant's coffin. The pall bearers had a hard struggle in carrying the remains down the incline leading from the house to the road and when they deposited the coffin in the wagon, beads of perspiration stood out on their foreheads. A large crowd followed the remains to the Middlebush cemetery, where the interment took place.

He was originally buried without a tombstone for fear his body would be dug up and put on display. The cemetery is the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Middlebush, New Jersey

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases