Researchers say DNA testing has identified four crew members who died during the ill-fated 1845 Franklin Expedition, resolving long-standing questions about several bodies recovered over the past century and a half. The expedition, led by Captain Sir John Franklin aboard HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, left England to chart the Northwest Passage and became trapped in Arctic ice; all 129 men aboard ultimately perished.
Anthropologists at the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University extracted genetic material from archaeological remains associated with the expedition and compared it to DNA donated by known descendants. That analysis produced matches for four men: able seaman William Orren, Boy 1st Class David Young, and subordinate officers’ steward John Bridgens, all linked to HMS Erebus, plus Harry Peglar, captain of the foretop aboard HMS Terror. Forensic facial reconstruction has been produced for David Young to show what he may have looked like near the time of death.
Peglar’s identification is particularly notable because his remains were recovered in 1859 together with rare written documents from the expedition, yet the clothing found on the body did not match his rank. The new genetic results confirm the body was Peglar’s; researchers also tested the remains of several known stewards to rule them out. Still, questions remain about why Peglar wore a steward’s uniform and why his remains were found far from other sites associated with Erebus crew members.
The study, published in journals including the Journal of Archaeological Science and Polar Record, builds on earlier identifications: Erebus engineer John Gregory was matched in 2021 and Erebus captain James Fitzjames in 2024. Fitzjames’ remains showed evidence consistent with cannibalism; similar traces were not found on the newly identified skeletons. The four newly identified individuals bring the total of named sailors from the expedition to six.
Researchers say these identifications offer more precise information about where and possibly how some crew members died, helping to piece together the expedition’s final, previously murky days. The teams encourage other descendants of Franklin Expedition sailors to contribute DNA to aid further identifications and deepen understanding of this major chapter in polar exploration history.