Our baby's name is Alton Philo Gustaveson. It is a very unique name. I would wager that our boy won't ever run in to someone that will say, "Alton Philo? Hey, that's my name too!" I'd like to explain the significance of the name we've given our precious little boy.
Alton is the name of Kasia's grandfather, Alton Eady. He was a great man who passed away a short time ago. He was born in Louisiana in 1917, and lived most of his adult life in Texas and Oklahoma. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the China Berma India Theater. Besides golf, Alton loved to fish, roller skate, and dance. He spent many hours researching his family history, but mostly he loved to joke with his kids.
Alton Eady was a man known for his sense of humor. He handled many tough situations in life with humor. He was adored by Kasia, who tells many stories of special moments spent with him. We are honored to continue the legacy of that good man, and hope our little Alton will find strength and love when he thinks of his name.
Philo comes from Philo Dibble. Philo was my great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side, and was an early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was baptized in 1830 by Parley P. Pratt. Philo saw firsthand many of the significant events of church history.
We was wounded and miraculously healed at the Battle of the Big Blue, marched with Joseph Smith in Zion's Camp, lived in Nauvoo, and made the death masks for Joseph and his brother Hyrum after they were killed. He was in the Kirtland temple the day when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received the vision that later became Doctrine and Covenants section 76. He even wrote a hymn that appears on our current hymn book!
He went west with the saints and died in Springville, Utah, in 1895. He was a great man who had more than his share of incredible experiences. He rubbed shoulders with the prophet Joseph Smith for many years. What a fortunate man! We hope that Alton Philo will be able to have similar great experiences and remember a great legacy when he thinks about his middle name.
So, there it is. Alton Philo Dibble is a strong name. We hope he appreciates it and lives in a way that will make his namesakes proud.
9 comments:
That is so awesome! We can't wait to meet your newest "raindrop" and hope all is well with the Newly-Expanded Gustaveson Gaggle. ^_*
Awesome, I love it! I wish I had some great mormon ancestors on my family tree... we are the pioneers in my family.
And here I thought he was named after Alton Brown from food network all this time... ;)
Kasia, I am making you something special I need to get it to you soon!
I think it is a great thing to be able to have a connection with great relatives you didn't even know. I do commend you for the placement of the names. I think Alton will as well when he is older:)
That picture of him all bundled up makes me want to just stick him in my pocket! He is small enough! So cute!
Hey thanks again for helping me out yesterday. I really appreciated it. You guys are awesome!
Found your blog through someone elses. Just wanted to say congratulations! Alton is a beautiful little boy!
I love it when names have meaning behind them. Thanks for sharing yours.
CONGRATS - he is super cute! And that is a very cool name. It very cool to have a name with lots of significance!
Wow, what a good strong name! I hope he is proud to be named after those men. That is really neat. He is SO cute!
What a great name for a strong little guy. He has some great men to look up to as heroes.
Congratulations! He is AMAZING! We are so happy for you guys!
love, the Tenneys
Post a Comment