Cold business solved: helping students to identify the remains of a 19th -century sea captain

Non-bread students at a New Jersey College helped to identify the skeleton-like remains of a sea captain who made his last, fatal journey almost 200 years ago.

Henry Goodsell was the 29-year-old captain of the Schooner Oriental, who was hired in 1844 to deliver 60 tons of marble to a boarding school in Philadelphia, according to research that was released this week from the Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center (igg).

After sailing from Connecticut, the ship took it in a mile off the coastline before a leak in the ship Goodsell and his small crew dragged to their watery graves, According to the college.

Between 1995 and 2013, a skull and bone fragments washed on the beaches of South Jersey, including in Longport, Margate and Ocean City.

After having made little progress in the case known as ‘Distributed Man John Doe’, in the fall of 2023, the New Jersey State Police worked with the IgG to try to give a name to the remains.

The use of research genetic genealogy – which combines consumers -DNA tests, such as 23andme, with genealogical research – the students went to work to resolve the mystery.

A sample of the bones was uploaded to genetic genealogy company Intermountain Forensics -A non -profit organization that cooperates with law enforcement to help identify human remains by DNA -who subsequently submitted it to DNA -Matching sites Yellow And Family in February 2024.

This year, by researching reported shipwrecks in the area and genealogy of the tested sample, the team made a breakthrough in identifying Goodsell.

“The use of modern genealogy tests to identify bone fragments from the 19th century is a powerful memory of our non -repellent dedication to resolve things, regardless of how old,” said Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the State Police in New Jersey, in an explanation.

“The possibility of bringing answers to families – even generations later – shows how far from science and dedication can bring us. Our partnership with Ramapo College has played an important role to make this possible, and we are incredibly proud of the meaningful progress that we continue to make together,” he said.

Ramapo officials said that the Goodsell case is one of the oldest cold case identification with the help of this form of identification.

Since the launch of the IGG at the end of 2022, the program has been consulted in 92 cold cases and has successfully helped to identify More than a dozen Human remains nationwide.