Making History

Family reunion

  • By Christine Dell'Amore
  • Smithsonian magazine, December 2007, Subscribe
 

 

Article Tools

 
  • Comments
    		•
  • Font
    		•
  • Email
    		•
  • RSS
    		•
  • Print
    		•

    Until a few months ago, he was just "the boy in the iron coffin." After construction workers unearthed his remains in Washington, D.C. while digging a gas line in 2005, the task of identifying him fell to a team led by Doug Owsley, a forensic anthropologist at Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The development of the boy's teeth indicated he had died in his mid-teens. His clothing suggested the mid-1800s. A search of census records and obituaries led to a name—William Taylor White. An orphan from Accomack County, Virginia, he had moved to Washington to attend Columbian College (now George Washington University) and died at age 15 on January 24, 1852, likely from a heart condition. The researchers traced White's family tree and confirmed his identity by comparing his DNA with that of a living relative, Linda Dwyer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "I was flabbergasted," Dwyer says, adding that the researchers had also found "a whole bunch of cousins I didn't know I had."


    Until a few months ago, he was just "the boy in the iron coffin." After construction workers unearthed his remains in Washington, D.C. while digging a gas line in 2005, the task of identifying him fell to a team led by Doug Owsley, a forensic anthropologist at Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The development of the boy's teeth indicated he had died in his mid-teens. His clothing suggested the mid-1800s. A search of census records and obituaries led to a name—William Taylor White. An orphan from Accomack County, Virginia, he had moved to Washington to attend Columbian College (now George Washington University) and died at age 15 on January 24, 1852, likely from a heart condition. The researchers traced White's family tree and confirmed his identity by comparing his DNA with that of a living relative, Linda Dwyer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "I was flabbergasted," Dwyer says, adding that the researchers had also found "a whole bunch of cousins I didn't know I had."

        Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.


    Digg
     
    Comments

    Post a Comment


    Name: (required)

    Email: (required)

    Comment:

    Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.



    Advertisement


    Advertisement

    Follow Us






    First Name
    Last Name
    Address 1
    Address 2
    City
    State   Zip
    Email

    Smithsonian Store

    Smithsonian Journeys