Flora Wulschner, inadvertent lyricist for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz

As lyricist for the song "Forgotten," interpolated by Eugene Cowles as the Metal Monarch into The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, Flora Wulschner never knew she'd contributed to a part of Oz history. Here's her story:

Flora Sullivan Stewart Wulschner

Flora Sullivan Stewart Wulschner

(1848-1909) was born Flora Sullivan in Indianapolis, Indiana, daughter of William Sullivan, a justice of the peace, and Clarissa Tomlinson. She married twice, first to Colonel Robert Reed Stewart (1827-1873), who fought in the Mexican War and commanded the Eleventh Indiana cavalry regiment in the US Civil War. They had one son. Her second marriage was to musician Wilhelm Emil Wulschner (1847-1900), whom she'd met while she resided for a time in Germany. Together they established a successful music company in Indianapolis, selling pianos and other musical instruments. Upon Emil’s death, his stepson, Alexander McGregor Stewart, took over the company.

Rich, educated, and influential in Indianapolis society, Wulschner was well known for her activities in many women’s organizations, serving on the boards of the Children of the American Revolution, the Spanish Literary Club, the Woman’s Relief Corps, and the Citizens’ Committee for Women’s Patriotic Societies, among others. Through practice and practical application, she developed her talents for music and literature. She studied languages, including Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, and German. Though Wulschner lived much of her life in Indianapolis, she had a passion for travel, journeying to such places as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, and Germany.

In 1892, Wulschner wrote a poem, which Frank Leslie's magazine published under the title of “Absent.” At Wulschner’s request, the poem was published anonymously. In 1894, Eugene Cowles ran across the poem and set it to music. As the song “Forgotten,” it became one of Cowles's standards. In 1903, Cowles performed in Indianapolis and became friendly with Wulschner. Learning that she had translated some French songs into English, Cowles suggested she write some songs herself. She mentioned that she had already written one—a favorite of Cowles—and revealed for the first time that she had written the lyrics of “Forgotten.”

By 1907, Wulschner’s health declined. She spent some time at a sanatorium in Atlantic City, New Jersey, until the physician there recommended she travel to Italy. She lived in Naples for nearly a year. In March 1909, she traveled to Rome on a charitable mission, planning to return home to Indianapolis later that spring. But at a hospital in Rome she died unexpectedly of pneumonia and bronchitis, attended by the president of the American Methodist College in Rome, Rev. E. B. Spencer. She left an estate estimated to be worth $300,000. Her body was returned to Indianapolis for burial.

Notes

“Personal and Society,” Indianapolis (IN) Journal, 27 January 1899, 3; “The Eleventh Indiana,” Indianapolis Journal, 16 May 1902, 3; “Indianapolis Woman who Wields a Gavel,” Indianapolis (IN) Morning Star, 27 December 1903, 6; “Porto [sic] Rican Paper’s Comments on Indianapolis Woman Visitor,” Indianapolis (IN) News, 25 March 1905, 26; “Mrs. Flora Wulschner Dies Far from Home,” Indianapolis News, 15 April 1909, 3; “Doubts of Death Slowly Give Way,” Indianapolis (IN) Star, 16 April 1909, 16; “Death News Confirmed,” Indianapolis Star, 17 April 1909, 7; “Answers from Readers,” New York (NY) Times, 15 December 1918, VII 10; “Lifelong Resident Dies,” Indianapolis News, 11 November 1932, 12; Max R. Hyman, editor, Hyman’s Handbook of Indianapolis (Indianapolis: M. R. Hyman, 1909), 222.

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