The fact that father and son dealt with the same curious theme hints at some family history behind the discussion
One of the most unusual questions raised in classic responsa comes from the Chacham Zvi, Rav Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi. The Chacham Tzvi wondered if a golem may be included in a minyan. Although he remained undecided, his son Rav Yaakov Emden ruled unequivocally that a golem can’t be counted toward a minyan. The fact that father and son dealt with the same curious theme hints at some family history behind the discussion. Both of them make reference to an early medieval golem said to have been created by their ancestor, Rav Eliyahu Baal Shem of Chelm (the Chacham Tzvi’s grandfather was married to the granddaughter of Rav Eliyahu).
Rav Eliyahu was born in the early 16th century and joined the yeshivah of the Maharshal in Lublin. He was soon hired as rabbi of Chelm, a position he held for the rest of his life. He continued to maintain a close relationship with the Maharshal, who held him in high esteem. In 1564, Rav Eliyahu gathered with other prominent rabbis, including his teacher, to cosign a halachic ruling allowing an agunah to remarry.
The golem creation story comes courtesy of Rav Yaakov Emden, who writes in his autobiography Megillas Sefer:
Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem the Elder, of blessed memory, who was a rabbinical judge in the holy community of Chelm in those days, created a man, and [my father, Chacham Zvi] relates that this creature was mute and served him as a slave.
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