DNA Solves 400-Year-Old Jamestown Mystery of Sir Ferdinando Wenman and Captain William West

A 400-year-old puzzle surrounding the identities of four men buried at England's first permanent settlement in the Americas may finally have been resolved. The findings reveal not only who two of them were, but also their scandalous family link.

DNA testing and archaeological work by a team of scholars have now confirmed that two previously unidentified people interred in the churchyard at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1610 CE were Sir Ferdinando Wenman and Captain William West.

DNA identifies Sir Ferdinando Wenman and Captain William West

Both were relatives of Thomas West, the colony's first governor. Their standing is also supported by the conspicuous placement of their graves within the Jamestown church site, as well as the coffins in which they were buried.

Carefully reconstructed from the remains of long-dead ancestors, ancient DNA, or aDNA, has yielded extensive insights into human evolution. However, it has seldom been employed as a forensic method for resolving historical mysteries.

"This study is the first to successfully use aDNA as a tool of identification at the colonial site of Jamestown, Virginia," says anthropologist Karin Bruwelheide, from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

The investigation centres on four graves positioned in a row in the chancel of the 1608 church. By deduction, these could only have been the burial places of four high-status men: Wenman and West, along with Reverend Robert Hunt and Captain Gabriel Archer.

Detailed examination of the craftsmanship of two coffins provided strong indications that they held Wenman and West.

A hidden maternal connection in the West family

Wenman's mother, Jane, was known to have been the aunt of Governor Thomas West. William West's family ties, however, were less certain, leading the researchers to examine their genetic evidence more closely to establish the relationship.

Testing of the poorly preserved DNA showed that both men had the mitochondrial haplogroup H10e, a comparatively uncommon genetic lineage transmitted to children solely through their mothers.

Given the imprecise genealogical documentation of William West's parentage, evidence of a maternal relationship was unexpected.

The team then examined historical documents and found a contemporary court dispute over ownership of Captain William West's belongings.

Mary, who brought up West, was named as the beneficiary of his will. She had also taken legal action to recover jewels given to William that had passed to other relatives.

Remarkably, the DNA evidence indicates that Mary's sister Elizabeth was William's biological mother, despite records listing Elizabeth as unmarried and without children. Since having a child outside marriage was deeply taboo in the 17th century, it is unsurprising that the connection was largely concealed.

Further complicating the family tree, Mary and Elizabeth were also sisters of Jane West. This made Sir Ferdinando Wenman, Captain William West and Governor Thomas West all first cousins.

Jamestown evidence brings buried lives into focus

Beyond the family scandal, identifying these two men after so many centuries demonstrates the value of modern DNA analysis. Combined with archaeological methods, bone chemistry and historical sources, it can build a clearer understanding of the past.

Captain William West's decision to leave for the New World may now appear more understandable: it offered the prospect of better fortunes in a land far from home, where his ancestry attracted less attention. The evidence gives colour and humanity to bones that had lain buried for centuries.

"The aDNA data reported for these two men reveals a previously unrecorded aspect of identity for one, and alters initial perceptions held by researchers regarding his parentage," write the researchers in their published paper.

"This study further reinforces the need for multidisciplinary approaches to better answer questions of not only who was involved in colonization, but possibly, why."

The research was published in Antiquity.