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_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Benjamin W. Baum
| (1850 - 1886)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Cynthia J. Baum
| (1843 - 1848)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Edwin C. Baum
| (1853 - 1856)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
_Benjamin Ward Baum __
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842
_Lyman Frank Baum ___|
| (1856 - 1919) m 1882|
| |_Cynthia Ann Stanton _+
| (1820 - 1905) m 1842
|
|--Frank Joslyn Baum
| (1883 - ....)
| ______________________
| |
|_Maud Gage __________|
m 1882 |
|_Matilda Gage ________
INDEX HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--George Mcclelland Baum
| (1861 - 1863)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Harriet A. Baum
| (1846 - ....)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Harry Clay Baum MD
| (1859 - ....)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Lyman Frank Baum
| (1856 - 1919)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
[877] "The Thomas Stanton Society Newsletter", Number 13, August 2001
in an article entitled CYNTHIA STANTON. GRANDMOTHER OF WIZARD
OF OZ states: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. published in 1900
remains the most significant childrens' book in American
history. It is a beloved fantasy, imitated, interpreted,
adapted, and marketed. It amazes me to see my great
grandchildren go "bonkers" over it. just as my children did
long ago. There is a special family pleasure in knowing the
background of The Wizard for it was written by Lvman Frank
Baum. 7th of 8 children born to Cynthia Stanton...(and) ...
Benjamin Baum.
Cynthia was forever concerned with this small. thin boy. born
with a defective heart. The family moved to Mattvdale where
Cynthia raised her family in a rose-covered farm estate called
Rose Lawn. Frank was sent to the Peekskill Military Academy
where he suffered a heart attack and returned home. It was the
beginning of a long series of failures that would plaque him
all his life.
Cynthia's husband Ben grew wealthy in the banking and oil
business. Frank's brothers joined the firm one-by-one while
Frank stayed home, bored and forever searching for the right
career. He published little newspapers in his early teens. then
at 18 discovered he was an actor. This was a disaster so he
turned to producing plays in a string of small theaters. That
venture ended when the houses were burned to the ground.
About this time Frank met and married Maud Gage. youngest
daughter of Matilda Gage who with Elizabeth Cads Stanton and
Susan B. Anthony drafted the famed womens' rights declaration.
Matilda opposed the marriage correctly predicting a life of
poverty because Frank was a good-for-nothing.
In the fading wake of California's gold rush the place to go
was Aberdeen. South Dakota where it was "almost impossible to
fail". Frank opened a variety shop carrying china and doll
buggies. It failed. Never to be daunted Frank bought a Saturday
newspaper and edited it until "that horse became financially
tired and died".
Frank joked.
Frank and Maud with their four sons moved to Chicago where he
left job after job. He cared so little about money that he
couldn't even balance a checkbook. Perhaps he escaped from
disappointing the world thru his stories.
Since his early days in Syracuse he'd gathered the neighborhood
children around and spun wonderful fantasy about fairies and
princesses. of bright green lands and brighter days than he had
ever seen. He changed the face of children's entertainment.
Before the Wizard. stories for children were sterile morality
tales that appealed to parents more than children. or
terrifying fairy stories filled with rovaltv and dark evil
forces. The wonderful .Wizard of Oz changed all that. The kids
were in charge as they are today.
It was during a visit to Maud and Frank that Matilda Gage
overheard Baum telling his sons wonderful stories and suggested
he write them and try to sell them. Frank took her advice and
four years later in 1900 published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Now Frank was off and running. He received royalties froth
Wizard and long sought financial success thru a prolific
output: 14 Oz books. 17 books for girls under "Edith Von Dyne",
six fantasy books as Laura Bancroft, six novels about young
fortune hunters, and two boy adventure stories.
Frank once more began to wander. He invested in an ill-fated
film venture after taking the family to Hollywood. In 1910 he
went into bankruptcy.
Frank died in 1919 after which his wife Maud remarked "I don't
believe he could tell the truth from fantasy". This may be just
as well because it is evident he mostly recognized the good
side of life. He eliminated traditional dragons and gorgans
from his tales and reportedly told a minister friend "I've
always felt there should never be anything except sweetness and
happiness in the Oz books. never a hint of tragedy or horror.
They are intended to reflect the world as it appears to the
eyes and imagination of a child".
The Wizard of Oz passed into public domain in 1956. By that
time the book had sold 5 million copies. By Nov. 2000 when the
book became 100 years old the 1939 MGM film version had been
seen by an estimated 1 billion people, mostly very young. more
than any other film made.
Frank expressed frustration with his inability to do anything
"great". As he wrote his sister. he reluctantly acknowledged he
had at least achieved a kind of special success. "He was a good
man and a good wizard". He expressed his guiding principle this
way. "To please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms
one's heart and brings its own reward".
A Former Munchkin Tells of Oz
On July 8th of this year a wizened little man sat with arms
crossed as he told of his Munchkin role in the Wizard of Oz.
Karl Slover is 82. one of more that 120 Munchkins in the
original film. Most of the films principal actors are dead but
10 of the Munchkins are still living.
Karl is what is known as a pituitary dwarf. By the time he was
8 he was bareh 2 feet tall. He is 4ft 4 inches now. His father
stood 6 ft 6 inches. His mother was just a few inches less
tall.
In the movie Karl played a trumpeter. a soldier. one of the
babies who popped out of the egg. and on one occasion played a
female Munchkin because of the shortage of midget women. Slover
was asked what Judv Garland was like. That is always his first
question to answer. "She was real nice" he said" I didn't get a
chance to talk to her much. She had a security lady who brought
her to work from school and returned her. Judy was only 16
then." "Ray Bolger. Jack Haley and Bert Lahr were all nice" he
said. "The doubles were the stuck -up ones".
It took two months time filming the midgets. The film was begun
in 1937 and released in 1939. Every couple of years The Wizard
of Oz hits another milestone and reporters are on the scene
seeking out a shrinking number of cast members
SOURCE
U.S. News & World Report Nov. 6. 2000
Family material furnished be' Robert Manton
of Clue,. N. l:
Herald Tribune, Bradenton, Fl. Sundae' July 8, 2001
[879] [S443] Stanton Assn, Aug 2001
INDEX HOME
_____________________
|
_Benjamin Ward Baum __|
| (1821 - 1887) m 1842 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Mary Louise Baum
| (1848 - ....)
| _Oliver Stanton _____+
| | (.... - 1854) m 1807
|_Cynthia Ann Stanton _|
(1820 - 1905) m 1842 |
|_Rhoda Underwood ____
(1789 - 1854) m 1807
INDEX HOME
The information on this page was last revised02/25/2002 02:58:43 AM Pacific Standard Time .
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