Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Jan. 19, 2003: Almost Famous

While fame and fortune runs in my family, it's always one step removed. For example, a relative, but not a direct ancestor, appeared in a classic Hollywood movie.

My grandmother's cousin was a Munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz." So I guess I'm only three degrees removed from Judy Garland, right?

His name was Merlan, and my mother says that in addition to being a Munchkin, he was also a flying monkey in the tower scene with the Wicked Witch of the West. (Wouldn't The Flying Monkeys be a cool band name?) I've just been at the Internet Movie Database trying to confirm this family story, but haven't had any luck, unless "Merlan" was only a nickname.

I've seen only one picture of him, and in it he's dressed as a clown, riding a pony that has, draped over its saddle, an advertisement for a shoe store. This was the type of work he usually got until "The Wizard of Oz" came along. And it's what he went back to after it was over. That is, if he was really in the movie, as the family story claims.

A relative, but not a direct ancestor, signed the Declaration of Independence. His name was James Wilson, and he was the brother of my direct ancestor. While James was in Philadelphia making history, my direct ancestor was minding the family farm.

When we visited Longwood Gardens, once the home of millionaire entrepreneur Louis DuPont, my dad proudly informed me that our direct ancestors had been the ones who sold him the land. Yippee.

Needless to say, my brother and I have been far more fascinated with our family's tangential history than with our direct line.

For example, there's Crazy Tom, who was the uncle of our direct ancestor. Crazy Tom had a good amount of money and decided he wanted to build himself a castle. His guardian thought this was a bad idea. What's more, his family didn't want him squandering all of his money. So the guardian compromised; he told Crazy Tom that he could build a castle, as long as he did it himself.

From that date until he died, Crazy Tom labored on his castle, hewing and carrying stones, setting them in place. By the time he died, he'd created a ten-foot wall, all around his "castle." The stones, legend says, were then used to build a bridge in Virginia.

The most interesting story about a direct ancestor was about a Quaker couple who were members of the first Society of Friends meeting-house to come out against slavery, and who housed a stop on the Underground Railroad. Perhaps this explains the dreams I've had since I was a child about a family house that had secret rooms and passageways.

Now that's a history to be proud of.

Moral:
Fame and fortune don't matter as much as doing good in the world, but name-dropping is fun.

Copyright 2003 by Alyce Wilson

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