DNA increasingly shows up in our public and private lives. Researchers use DNA to advance medical treatments. Ancient DNA (aDNA) studies trace human migrations and interactions in the distant past. Families use Direct-to-Consumer genetic testing to trace DNA origins and find biological relatives, while law enforcement us DNA to solve cases. Only lately, however, has aDNA played a role in investigating our more recent past.

New research on human remains discovered at the early colonial site of Jamestown, Virginia, uses ancient DNA as an identification tool in a multi-faceted study combining genetics with archaeological and osteological evidence, and a 400-year-old court case over inheritance. As complex as any modern forensic case, the study establishes the identity and relationship of two men buried in unmarked graves of the colony’s 1608-1616 church. The location of the two graves with matching coffin styles indicate cultural and social prominence within the community. Bone chemistry reveals that both were raised in England, and they had elevated levels of lead in their bones – a marker of high-status – resulting from use of pewter and lead-glazed table wares that contaminated their food and drink. Evidence of age and status match with two men who died at Jamestown within weeks of one another – Sir Ferdinando Wenman (AD 1576–1610) and Captain William West (about AD 1586–1610). Both were thought to be members of a prominent English household with strong ties to the colonial settlement. They came to Jamestown with family member and first governor of the colony, Thomas West, Third Baron De La Warr, but died within a year of arrival. Missing from the written record, however, was the specific nature of Capt. West’s relatedness, which might help to explain why he came to the colony.

Excavation of the fort’s 1608 Church showing structural posts and four chancel burial outlines (credit: Michael Lavin, Jamestown Rediscovery (Preservation Virginia))

Despite poor preservation, aDNA analysis connected the two men through the maternal line. While Wenman’s lineage was documented, Capt. West had no record of parentage despite his West surname. This surprising finding prompted extensive archival research leading to the discovery of a court case disputing the possession of Captain West’s property. His aunt Mary, beneficiary of his will, sued to obtain jewels given to William by Elizabeth West, her unwed sister. Mary had raised William after her sister’s death, and now after her nephew’s death, claimed the jewels as hers. William was identified as illegitimate, which clarifies his absence from formal West genealogical records. It also offered a likely reason for his coming to Jamestown – his illegitimate birth. Capt. West used his kin-based network in search of better opportunities in a new land – a true immigrant story.

The names, places, and dates found in textbooks – what many have relied on as a connection to the varied human stories of history – are being enhanced by new ways of studying historic events and people. This is diversifying the stories told and how they are revealed. The multi-faceted approach incorporating DNA allows the remains themselves to speak, and their stories are not unlike our own.

Read the associated research, out now open access in Antiquity: Historical and archaeogenomic identification of high-status Englishmen at Jamestown, Virginia by Karin Bruwelheide et al.