President Harrison picks baby’s name

In August of 1891, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison went on a short fishing trip to Mount McGregor, just north of Saratoga Springs. He stayed with one Judge McAdam while he was there.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen of Elizabeth, N.J., were also McAdam’s guests. And the Allens had brought along their nameless 8-month-old baby girl.

The parents were unable to select a name for their child, and in their extremity they came to the president and asked him to choose one from a list of names. He selected Marguerite, and Marguerite Thompson Allen was baptized and Mr. Harrison became her godfather.

I wonder if Obama has named any babies yet. (Babies other than his own, I mean.)

Source: “The Two Presidents.” Daily Shield And Banner [Mansfield, Ohio] 22 Aug. 1891: 1.

3 thoughts on “President Harrison picks baby’s name

  1. How sweet.

    One of my grandmother’s friends was named Marguerite Thompson! (Thompson was her married name.)

  2. How special to be named by a President and have him as godfather. It’s not likely that many couples today would let anyone else name their baby, even a president, and even less likely that an 8-month-old child would still be called “Baby”.

    I loved this little story — so 19th century. I wonder what the rest of the story was: did Pres. Harrison fulfill his godfatherly duties? Did Marguerite meet him again when she was older? Sadly, President Benjamin Harrioson died only 10 years later in 1901.

    Benjamin Harrison’s own daughters had simpler, traditional names: Mary (Mamie) born in 1858 from his first wife and Elizabeth born in 1897 from his second wife, 25 years younger than he.

  3. @Patricia – I wonder about the rest of the story as well. I tried to track down the Allen family, but didn’t have any luck. Wish the article had included a few extra details.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.