DNA Obtained From Franklin Expedition Crew

Anyone else been following this story?

According to a report in Live Science, a team led by Douglas Stenton of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage obtained DNA samples from at least 24 members of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, which attempted to find a Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in 1845. All were lost when Sir John Franklin’s ships were trapped in the ice of the Canadian Arctic and the sailors abandoned their ships in 1848. Link

The tale of the Franklin expedition has been a ripping good yarn for nigh-on 170 years, from it's loss in 1848 to the recent discovery of the ships in Canada's arctic waters. Now we are talking about DNA analysis of crewmen (and women?) and a recent book by Paul Watson is illuminating the subject even further: Ice Ghosts

A little adventure to get away from politics for a while.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Howdy JC, it'll be cool for anyone who's had their genome results because a couple of the firms do some family tree mapping. "Hey, we're descendants of the Franklin Expedition Crew!!"

I'm not seeing the wider point of getting their DNA samples. Help me out!

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck
Howdy JC, it'll be cool for anyone who's had their genome results because a couple of the firms do some family tree mapping. "Hey, we're descendants of the Franklin Expedition Crew!!"
I'm not seeing the wider point of getting their DNA samples. Help me out!

Yes, there is the 'cool' factor, but this has been a big deal, in both Britain and Canada, for a long time. Victorian England was seized by the topic, drawing in folks such heavyweights as Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. I've been fortunate to be an observer on the periphery of some of the investigations and any new discovery adds to the rush.

Matching the DNA with the living would indicate who died where, the study says. "If we can find those living descendants -- if they're directly descended from those crew members -- and if they're willing to submit a DNA sample in the form of a ... cheek swab, then we can analyze their DNA, compare it to the DNA extracted from these skeletal remains and see if there is a match," Keenlyside told The Canadian Press.

Doug Stenton, lead author of the study released online in the Journal of Archeological Science: Reports, said knowing who the men were would shed light on their rank. That information would add to a bank of knowledge that could one day unlock the mystery of the failed mission.

"I think it's going to be a combination of things that ultimately lead to an understanding of what happened," said Stenton, who is with Nunavut's Culture and Heritage Department. "It's important we take advantage of as many sources as we can."
Franklin researchers hope to link DNA from sailors' bones with descendants

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Well anything that fills in a few gaps in our history is positive.

Those guys had balls of steel. Very small ones, considering the climate, but steel nonetheless.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck
Well anything that fills in a few gaps in our history is positive.

Those guys had balls of steel. Very small ones, considering the climate, but steel nonetheless.

The recent quest to find the ships captured the national imagination, with the Inuit factoring in as well.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Great video! I highly recommend others watch this searing and disturbing narrative of a time gone by and the poor souls who never came home.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

That is GOLD, right there. GOLD!

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

I sawer that episode the other night. Fascinating stuff. I bet they are all found to have toxic levels of lead in their bones from the lead solder used to seal food cans back then.

Or maybe not. They were still nuts, struggling against the elements for the powers that be.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Howdy JC, it'll be cool for anyone who's had their genome results because a couple of the firms do some family tree mapping. "Hey, we're descendants of the Franklin Expedition Crew!!"

I'm not seeing the wider point of getting their DNA samples. Help me out!

Probably to make sure they weren't attacked by some shapeshifting alien who might have taken them out one at a time while assuming their shape and their identity. Or, no, that was a movie.

a reply to: intrptr

I think the lead is a strong contributer to their peril, they were not making good decisions due to the amount of lead they were taking in, a bad decision there can be a real deal changer.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: intrptr

I think the lead is a strong contributer to their peril, they were not making good decisions due to the amount of lead they were taking in, a bad decision there can be a real deal changer.

Currently reading Ice Ghosts, and I'll be able to provide a reasonable answer from there, but truth is, they were not equipped for the cold.

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

I wonder if they might of been better off on the ship..I know it went down eventually.

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: intrptr

I think the lead is a strong contributer to their peril, they were not making good decisions due to the amount of lead they were taking in, a bad decision there can be a real deal changer.

Adding fervent religion and the Quest. Mix all together and you got madness...

a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Hiya buddy, there's an article on The New Yorker about photographs that inspired songs. I saw the image below and remembered this thread:

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: JohnnyCanuck

Hiya buddy, there's an article on The New Yorker about photographs that inspired songs. I saw the image below and remembered this thread:

Thanks you for that. Evocative song for an evocative photo. I've held a couple of artifacts from the expedition on different occasions. Heady stuff. Currently hoping to organise a lecture with the osteologist from the crew that discovered the ships. There are still stories to be told about the Franklin Expedition.