Skeletal remains found on different beaches along the South Jersey Shore belong to the captain of a 19th century ship that sank off the coast of Atlantic County, investigators announced this week.
A skull first washed ashore in Longport in 1995 and more bones were found in Margate City in 1999. In 2013, additional remains were found in Ocean City, in neighboring Cape May County.
For decades, the set of remains were dubbed Scattered Man John Doe until New Jersey State Police teamed up with the Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center to identified the person.
In early 2024, a forensics lab ran samples through a number of DNA databases and Ramapo students found family history dating back to the 1600s, with relatives linked to Litchfield and Fairfield counties in Connecticut.
They also began researching shipwrecks off the coast of New Jersey and found newspaper articles from December 1844.
According to the articles, a schooner named Oriental left Connecticut en route to Philadelphia with five crew members onboard. The boat was carrying 60 tons of marble destined for Girard College, a boarding school that was under construction at the time.
Reports said the ship likely sprung a leak and sank near Brigantine Shoal, roughly a mile off the coast of Atlantic City. All five crew members died, including the vessel’s 29-year-old captain, Henry Goodsell.
Following their discoveries, the researchers handed off the investigation to the state police, who tracked down Goodsell’s great-great grandchild, who provided a DNA sample. Scattered Man John Doe was confirmed to be Goodsell last month.
Ramapo College said it’s one of the oldest cold case identifications using investigative genetic genealogy.
“Using modern genealogy testing to identify bone fragments from the 19th century is a powerful reminder of our unwavering commitment to resolving cases no matter how old,” said NJSP Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan. “The ability to bring answers to families — even generations later —shows how far science and dedication can take us.”
New Jersey has one of the most extensive shipwreck databases in the U.S. with more than 4,800 entries.
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