A few weeks ago, family and friends of Smyrna’s Melissa and Elliott Crain gathered for the christening of the couple’s first child. The celebration marked not just the arrival of the Crains' daughter, Lauren Katherine, but a milestone in the Crain family.
Lauren Katherine, it turns out, was the first girl born into the Crain family since 1906 -- a spell of 104 years.
“Yes, that was the last time a girl was born on the Crain side,” confirmed Elliott Crain. “While Melissa was pregnant, we sort of suspected we’d have a boy, since they run in the family. It was almost a running joke. But when we found it we were having a girl, it was really exciting.”
Lauren Katherine was christened Jan. 30 at North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Midtown, where Elliott Crain has been a member since he was a teen and where the couple was married seven years ago. The baby’s arrival on June 6 last year was highly anticipated not only by her parents, but by her grandparents and extended family as well.
“It didn’t seem like a big deal when we thought we were having a boy,” said Elliott Crain. “But once we found out we were having a girl, the whole family got very excited that there would finally be a Crain girl.”
According to family history, the last Crain girl was named Helen and arrived in 1906. She was the sister of Elliott’s grandfather.
“She was born in Birmingham [Alabama], and I knew her,” recalled Elliott Crain. “She died in 1994 when she was 88 years old. Most of my memories of her were from the years when I was 8 to 16 years old. The family had property in Alabama, and we’d always all go visit the farm for Thanksgiving.”
Elliott Crain’s father has one brother who has a son. “So I’ve got one cousin, and he’s a boy,” said Elliott with a laugh.
Picking a girl’s name was one of the biggest challenges facing the new parents.
“We fought back and forth over names for a long time,” said Melissa Crain with a laugh. “ Lauren was one of the few that we really liked and could agree on. Then we finally went with Katherine for Elliott’s grandmother.”
Mom Melissa was delighted to mark a family milestone, but that was the last thing on her mind when she learned she was expecting.
“I kind of wanted a girl,” she said. “But honestly, I would have been happy either way. Still, when I found out it was I girl, I was really excited!”
"Milestones" covers significant events and times in the lives of metro Atlantans. Big or small, well-known or not -- tell us of a Milestone we should write about. Send information to hm_cauley@yahoo.com; call 404-514-6162; or mail to Milestones, c/o Jamila Robinson, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway N.E., Atlanta, GA 30346.
