I've always thought the two songs were about the same guy, who lived and died in my area. The Mississippi is about a mile from where I sit, and King's Chute--definitely the site of "Whelan's Fate", the other title for "James Whelan" is fifteen or twenty miles upriver. King's Lake is a small lake just downstream from the much larger Crotch Lake, and King's Chute is below King's Lake.   It is not much visited these days, unlike the better-known-locally Ragged Chutes, a mile or so downstream.      

Anyone wants a site tour, I'll take you, bring your bug repellent. There are still Phalens, McLellans, and possibly Whelans living around here.

Another recent recording of "Lost Jimmy Whelan" is by Aengus Finnan.

W-O