When the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912, it was reported that only one child from first or second class had perished. Her name was Loraine Allison.
In 1940, a woman named Helen Kramer came forward and claimed to be Loraine Allison. She began a lawsuit to claim a large portion of the Allison fortune, which was huge. A long and bitter legal battle began, and was continued by Ms. Kramer's family after she died in 1992. For a more detailed and entertaining account of how Ms. Kramer tried to establish her identity, click here to read a story from www.irishcentral.com.
The fight went on, and involved restraining orders and a refusal to allow Helen Kramer's ashes to be scattered on the Allison property. In the end, DNA tests were done. The testing was suggested and arranged by a group of Titanic experts, who asked both families to participate. It was shown beyond any doubt that Helen Kramer was not related to the Allison family. That was done in 2012, a full hundred years after the sinking of the Titanic.
This has to be one of the longest running estate battles on record. I'm not sure whether Helen Kramer was deluded and truly believed herself to be Loraine Allison, or whether she was just an opportunist on a grand scale, but at least the Allison family won't have to deal with this anymore.
Photo by Wikicommons
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