Researchers have identified four more crew members from Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 Arctic expedition using DNA analysis, shedding new light on one of history's greatest exploration mysteries and resolving a debate that has lasted more than 160 years.
The discoveries, led by anthropologists at the University of Waterloo, bring the total number of positively identified expedition members to six. DNA extracted from skeletal remains recovered in Canada's Arctic was matched with samples provided by living descendants.
The Franklin expedition set sail in 1845 aboard HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in search of the Northwest Passage. After the vessels became trapped in Arctic ice for nearly two years, 105 surviving crew members abandoned the ships in April 1848 and attempted to escape on foot along the western coast of King William Island in present-day Nunavut. None survived.
Researchers identified three sailors from HMS Erebus—Able Seaman William Orren, Boy First Class David Young and Subordinate Officers' Steward John Bridgens—whose remains were recovered at Erebus Bay, where many of the expedition's final victims died.
The fourth identification, Captain of the Foretop Harry Peglar of HMS Terror, resolves a long-standing historical mystery dating back to 1859.
Peglar's body had been discovered carrying his personal documents, including what became known as the "Peglar Papers", a collection of poetry and apparent accounts of events during the expedition. However, historians questioned whether the remains truly belonged to Peglar because the clothing found on the body did not match his naval rank.
DNA analysis has now conclusively confirmed the identity.
"It was interesting to conclusively identify this sailor because the body was found with almost the only written documents from the expedition ever recovered," said Professor Robert Park, co-researcher and professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo.
The study also confirms that Orren, Young and Bridgens survived at least the first three years of the expedition before dying during the desperate attempt to escape the Arctic.
Unlike the remains of Captain James Fitzjames, identified through DNA in 2024, the newly identified sailors showed no evidence of cannibalism, researchers said.
The latest findings build on previous breakthroughs by the research team. In 2021, DNA analysis identified John Gregory, an engineer aboard HMS Erebus, while Captain Fitzjames became the fifth crew member identified through genetic testing.
According to Dr Douglas Stenton, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo and lead researcher, the discoveries provide important answers for descendants of the expedition's crew.
"For the living descendants, these findings provide previously unavailable details regarding the circumstances and locations of their relatives' deaths, as well as the identities of some of the shipmates who died with them," Stenton said.
The research also uncovered an unexpected family connection. BBC News journalist Rich Preston was found to be a direct descendant of John Bridgens after providing a DNA sample.
"I was so intrigued when Dr Stenton first contacted me asking if I'd be willing to provide a DNA sample," Preston said. "It was a huge surprise to learn my DNA matched one of the sailors from the doomed Franklin expedition."
The researchers compared mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA from living descendants with genetic material extracted from archaeological remains. In all four new cases, the comparisons produced exact genetic matches, providing strong evidence of shared ancestry.
The team is encouraging other descendants of Franklin expedition crew members to come forward with DNA samples, which could help identify additional remains and further unravel the fate of the expedition.
The findings appear in two papers. DNA identifications of three 1845 Franklin expedition sailors from HMS Erebus appears in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The second paper by the same authors, 'Some very hard ground to heave': DNA identification of Harry Peglar, Captain of the Foretop, HMS Terror, appears in Polar Record.
Sources : The University of Waterloo