Janice R. Andrews
The family of Thomas West, the first ruler of the Jamestown colony, has been involved in an incident that has been kept secret for a long time. This discovery, which was made possible by studying old DNA, brings to light a secret that had been hidden for over 400 years.
Bringing the Past to Light: Jamestown’s Hidden Secrets
The study started when bodies were found in unmarked graves at an old Anglican church in Jamestown, Virginia. Early British residents used this church from 1608 to 1616. It later became the final resting place for some of the colony’s most important people. Archaeologists found four of these graves in 2014. The bodies in two of them stood out right away because they were so well made.
People thought that the bodies in these boxes belonged to important people in the town. One of the skulls was buried with a military sash with stars on it, which suggests that the person was very important. According to reports from the past, these were the bodies of Captain William West, who died when he was young (20), and Sir Ferdinando Wenman, who died when he was 34. It was known that both men were connected to Governor Thomas West, but it wasn’t clear what kind of relationship they had with each other.
DNA Analysis: A New Turn to the Story
Researchers used ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis to find out who these people were and how they were related. This method has changed the way we study historical artifacts and gave us new information that we couldn’t have gotten with older methods alone. The hundreds of years-old DNA, on the other hand, was badly damaged, which limited the study. Still, scientists were able to get mitochondrial DNA, which is a type of genetic material that is passed down through mothers.
What they found was a surprise. It was found that Captain William West and Sir Ferdinando Wenman were connected through their mothers. They both had the mitochondrial haplogroup H10e. The study team was surprised by this result because, based on their last names, they thought the connection would be on the father’s side.
The scandal starts: Captain West is not married to his wife.
When researchers found this mother link, they looked deeper into history records and found a big secret that had been kept hidden for a long time. One of these papers was a court case from 1616 that had been missed before. It was about who should get Captain West’s things when he died. His will gave the money to Mary Blount, who is Governor Thomas West’s aunt. More research showed that Mary Blount had raised Captain West in honor of her dead, single sister Elizabeth West.
This new information proved that Captain William West was born to Elizabeth West outside of marriage, making him an illegitimate kid. The English West family, who were well-known and respected, had purposely left this shocking birth out of their official family trees. At the time, being unmarried was seen as a bad thing, which is likely a big reason why Captain West chose to leave England and try to make money in the New World.
What We Now Know About Jamestown’s Founders
The results of this study not only show a personal scandal in one of the colony’s most important families, but they also give us a better idea of how people interacted with each other in the early years of the Jamestown settlement. It shows the social norms and pressures of the time that lineage and legitimacy were closely linked to one’s social standing and chances. This is shown by the fact that Captain West’s illegitimacy was purposely erased from family records.
Dr. Christine Lee, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Mississippi who wasn’t part of the study, talked about how important it is to find things like this. She said, “This case shows how genetic data and historical evidence can bring to light stories that were taboo or embarrassing in the past.” “It also helps us understand how people survived by following the rules of society.”
Why studying DNA from the past is important
The fact that old DNA was used in this study shows how modern science can change the past. Skeletobiologist Kari Bruwelheide of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History said, “The aDNA took us in a very unexpected direction, one we never would have gone without it.” Researchers can find out things that were thought to be lost in time by looking at genetic material from bones that are hundreds of years old.
Michael Lavin, who is in charge of collections and protection at the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, talked about how important this find is for knowing how people lived in the past. “Just like us, the people who came here to start over had family secrets and problems with other people,” Lavin said. “Telling those secrets after more than 400 years is an amazing accomplishment for the fields of history and science.”
This important find at Jamestown not only reveals a secret family scandal, but it also helps us learn more about the past of the colony and the complicated lives of its people. Ancient DNA analysis and historical study have opened a new chapter in the story of Jamestown. They show that drama and secrets were just as common in the early days of America’s beginning as they are now.
