A team of anthropologists from the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada, has identified the skeletal remains of four more sailors from the Franklin Expedition — the ill-fated British mission that set out in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage. Not one of its 129 crew members ever returned.
The findings, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports and in the journal Polar Record, bring the total number of identified men to six.
The approach mirrored that of earlier identifications: DNA was extracted from teeth and bone fragments recovered in the Canadian Arctic, and compared against genetic samples voluntarily provided by descendants of the crew.
Who the Six Men Were
Three of the newly identified sailors served aboard the HMS Erebus: William Orren, an able seaman; David Young, a first-class boy; and John Bridgens, a subordinate steward. Their remains were recovered at Erebus Bay, on the southwestern coast of King William Island — one of the expedition’s primary archaeological sites.
The biographical details that surfaced along the way helped put names to faces. David Young was just 17 when he joined up. William Orren was 38. John Bridgens, who had previously worked as a barber, was 26.
All three were exact DNA matches — the archaeological samples aligned perfectly with genetic material provided by their descendants.
The fourth case was different — and far more complicated. Researchers confirmed that remains found roughly 81 miles to the south, on the Adelaide Peninsula, belonged to Harry Peglar, captain of the foretop aboard the HMS Terror.
His case had generated debate since 1859, when a search party discovered a body with his papers and a seaman’s certificate among the effects. Strangely, the body was dressed in clothing inconsistent with his naval rank.
Those documents became known as the “Peglar Papers” — among the few written records ever recovered from the expedition. They include poems and notes believed to document the crew’s final months.
For more than a century and a half, no one could resolve the case with certainty. DNA did it in 2026. Peglar is the only sailor from the HMS Terror identified to date through DNA analysis.
The expedition’s two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were carrying 129 crew members when they became trapped in Arctic ice for nearly two years. In April 1848, the 105 survivors abandoned the vessels and hauled their sledges along the western coast of King William Island, in what is now the territory of Nunavut, Canada.
None survived. The expedition had buried only three of its members — those who died during the first year — beneath headstones that identified them. The rest lay scattered across King William Island and the Adelaide Peninsula for decades, seemingly beyond any hope of identification.
The genetic identification program began in 2013. In 2021, the team identified John Gregory, an engineer of the HMS Erebus, through DNA provided by a descendant. In 2024, they made another match: James Fitzjames, captain of the Erebus, whose remains bore evidence of cannibalism.
Unlike those earlier cases, the four recently identified sailors show no signs of dismemberment or cannibalism. This suggests that the circumstances of death varied considerably from group to group during the expedition’s final days.
“It must have been horrible,” said Douglas Stenton, an archaeologist at the University of Waterloo and lead author of the study. “It was probably minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit, and these men were in poor health after three years in the Arctic.”
A Story That Reaches Into the Present Day
One of the most striking aspects of the process is how it connects a long-buried past to people alive today who never knew they had a connection to it.
Rich Preston, a BBC journalist, learned of his connection to the Franklin Expedition when Stenton contacted him last year, having traced a possible genealogical link between Preston and one of the crew.
Preston then learned that John Bridgens was his great-great-great-great-grandfather. “It was a complete surprise,” Preston wrote. “I’ve always been passionate about history. Finding out that one of my direct ancestors was part of a mission that has captivated historians for so long is genuinely thrilling.”
The team continues to encourage descendants of crew members to submit DNA samples. Each new identification helps piece together the crew’s final days. “They’re not just names anymore,” Stenton said. “They had families at home who never saw them again, and I think for some of the descendants this can offer a measure of comfort.”
Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre in Wales will open an exhibition next month featuring artifacts that have never been publicly displayed. The event will coincide with the bicentennial of HMS Erebus’s original launch.
Of the 129 men who sailed from England in 1845, the remains of at least 23 have been found. Only six have been identified. Most still lie nameless in the frozen ground of Nunavut.
