Before Lin Manuel Miranda took his story to the stage, Alexander Hamilton was the answer to a trivia question, the subject of a few pages of a text book. He had a place on the $10 bill, but no hold on the country's collective memory.

Now, ten months into Hamilton's Broadway run, the appetite for Alexander, Eliza, and entire Hamilton family is only increasing. So, how are the modern-day Hamiltons handling their (somewhat) newfound fame?

"There's never been a better time to be a descendant of Alexander Hamilton," said Doug Hamilton, a fifth-great-grandson of the first Secretary of the Treasury, in a phone interview with Town & Country.

Doug, an IBM salesperson in the Columbus area of Ohio, has seen the musical multiple times, considers Miranda an acquaintance, and was there for the initial Vassar workshop, an event he says was "electrifying."

"It's been pretty spectacular," Doug said of the play's immense popularity. "Not only for saving Hamilton on the $10 bill, but more importantly, for promoting the founding age of our country, and everything the Founding Fathers did."

He is, of course, referring to the movement to feature women on U.S. paper currency. Initially, a woman's portrait was set to replace Hamilton's on the $10, but the success of the musical (and the tribute it pays to Hamilton's historical influence on America's financial systems) undoubtedly influenced Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to rethink the plan. Now, Harriet Tubman will appear on the $20, ousting Andrew Jackson, and the back of the $10 will feature a series of women's rights activists: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, and Alice Paul.

"I don't know that we could be more happy about this," Doug said of the decision.

And while some of his other relatives may be uncomfortable in the spotlight (or haven't even heard of the musical, if you can believe it), Doug takes pride in representing his ancestor and "telling his story," to borrow a sentiment from the show. "[Alexander Hamilton] is a great example for my kids and my grandkids. He came to this country with nothing and he worked really hard."

Doug has followed closely the show's development, and its increasing collection of awards."It just keeps on growing," he said of the show's near constant buzz and vast fandom. "And it's great to see that it's not just a Broadway thing; it's the whole country that is experiencing this story."

"Every time you turn around there's something new going on with it. I know tickets are hard to get, but there's a new book, you can get the music on your phone," he said.

But Doug is most excited about how the musical is being used in the classroom, with both the official curriculum that Hamilton producers are creating , but also through individual teachers who are bringing the soundtrack into their curriculums.

"The reach that it's getting within the school systems is just incredible. It's put a whole new spotlight on this founding age," he said. "It's the start of something. It begs the question, it starts the discussion."

The best time to be a Hamilton, indeed.

Caroline Hallemann Senior Digital News Editor As the senior digital news editor for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers everything from the British royal family to the latest episodes of Outlander, Killing Eve, and The Crown.

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