Story perspectives

DNA Identifies 246-Year-Old Revolutionary Soldier, 20k Relatives Attend Reburial

7/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

Astrea Forensics extracted DNA from a 246-year-old petrous bone, producing a genome that identified the remains as John Pumphrey, killed at 1780 Battle of Camden.
Uploading the genome to FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch generated roughly 20,000 matches that confirmed his identity.
Funding from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Battleground Preservation Trust covered the effort, with relatives attending a June 2026 Baltimore ceremony where Pumphrey was reburied.

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Story summary

Astrea Forensics extracted DNA from a 246-year-old petrous bone, producing a genome that identified the remains as John Pumphrey, killed at 1780 Battle of Camden.
Uploading the genome to FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch generated roughly 20,000 matches that confirmed his identity.
Funding from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Battleground Preservation Trust covered the effort, with relatives attending a June 2026 Baltimore ceremony where Pumphrey was reburied.