Scientists have successfully used new DNA technologies to identify the historical remains of George Washington’s family. The fragmentary bones found at Harewood Cemetery in West Virginia have been confirmed to belong to George Washington’s grandnephews, Samuel Walter Washington and George Steptoe Washington Jr., as well as their mother, Lucy Payne Washington.
The AFMES-AFDIL team conducted a range of DNA tests on the remains found at Harewood Cemetery, including those of George Washington’s family members. The results were compared with DNA analyses from a living descendant, S.W. Washington. The study aimed to improve methodologies for analyzing historical samples and to develop new methods for extended kinship prediction.
In the next step, scientists plan to validate the advanced DNA analysis techniques for ongoing efforts to identify the remains of members of the US troops who died in past conflicts, going back as far as the second World War. The findings of this research were published in the journal iScience.
Researchers from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES-AFDIL) at Dover Air Force Base conducted the analysis. The laboratory is the US Department of Defense’s only human remains DNA laboratory, supporting everyday operations and the mission to identify troop members from past conflicts. Overall, this research represents an important step in furthering the use of advanced DNA technologies for historical sample analysis and improving methodologies for identifying human remains in routine casework.
