The story comes from my grandmother Esther (Agnew) Barnard, and especially from her sister, my Great-Aunt Wilna McCaskey. Esther and Wilna’s mother Audrey (Agnew) Aber had a father or grandfather who was a distant cousin of Queen Victoria. When he was traveling by ship from England to the United States, Queen Victoria met him on the dock and gave him a small spoon from her collection in remembrance of their relationship. That spoon remains in the family to this day.

We know who the person must have been – both of Audrey’s parents, three out of four grandparents, and parents of those three grandparents were all born in Pennsylvania. They could not have emigrated from England during Queen Victoria’s time! Audrey’s grandfather William G. Allen emigrated from England to Pennsylvania when age 21, during Queen Victoria’s reign, so he exactly fits the story.

William arrived in the United States 6 February 1848 at the Port of New York. On Saturday 22 December 1849, he declared his intention of becoming a citizen at the Clarion County Courthouse. He became a citizen 9 February 1855. He was a coal miner, and died in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, 9 Jan 1892.

We’d love to confirm the story… perhaps his obituary might say something of the legend. Or give more information about his parents, and their obituaries might give us more information.