1845 Franklin Expedition-Researchers have identified one of the first members of the Franklin Expedition with the help of DNA Analysis. A combined team of researchers from the University of Waterloo, Lakehead University, and Trent University conducted the study. They studied the skeletal remains of the said member to conduct the genealogical analyses. And established the member’s identity from the 1845 Franklin Expedition. Now, the skeletal remains found in 2013 came to light only recently. And the researchers confirmed that these belong to Warrant Officer John Gregory. Also these results hold a direct DNA match with the descendants of Gregory.
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1845 Franklin Expedition- What was it?
The 1845 Franklin Expedition set on its voyage to explore the Arctic Circle. And John Franklin was the Captain, who led the mission with the two ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. But the mission or the exploration was a failure as the ships met with a huge disaster. Its 129 officers got stuck in the thick Arctic Ice in Victoria Strait near King William Island. Douglas Stenton is an adjunct professor at the Waterloo University in the anthropology department. And he quotes, “We now know that John Gregory was one of three expedition personnel who died at this particular site. The site was located at Erebus Bay on the southwest shore of King William Island”. Douglas also co-authored the paper along with other researchers like Anne Keenleyside. And they extracted the DNA from tooth and bone samples of the remains.
A word from Jonathan Gregory:
Now, Jonathan Gregory is the great-great-great-grandson of Gregory. And he was very elated with the news of DNA findings. Thus, he congratulated the team of researchers and said that the event is an incredible one for their family. Also, the team has successfully extracted the DNA samples of other 26 members.
