tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post2959539460588438535..comments2024-03-18T18:05:25.821-07:00Comments on VISIONS OF THE NORTH: Who's in that Grave?Russell Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-1488175830447513392011-05-05T19:06:49.633-07:002011-05-05T19:06:49.633-07:00Hello Joe.
It's grand to hear from you, and a...Hello Joe.<br /><br />It's grand to hear from you, and all best to you and yours!<br /><br />And yes, it is indeed unusual for me to have no new Franklin or Arctic posts for so long -- I've gotten more than one inquiry as to my health!<br /><br />But it is good news, not bad, that has slowed me down a bit -- I am in the final stages (copyediting, page proofs, etc.) of a new book which, although not Polar in subject matter, promises to make quite a splash when it appears this November in the UK. I will post details as soon as all the t's are crossed and i's dotted! -- very shortly, I hope.<br /><br />By the by, you should know that your "guest blog" appearance here is the #2 most-viewed post in the history of this blog (the only higher one was my first post on the finding of McClure's ship). I should have you as my guest more often!<br /><br />all the very best!Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-56539747307718227372011-05-05T13:12:21.836-07:002011-05-05T13:12:21.836-07:00Hi Russell, and warmest greetings from Ireland. I&...Hi Russell, and warmest greetings from Ireland. I'm getting a little concerned: you haven't added to your blog since March 20th! That's not like you. Hope all's OK with you.<br />Your friend, Joe O'FarrellJoe O'Farrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15775789376522942771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-91834226079678886832011-03-22T20:44:52.446-07:002011-03-22T20:44:52.446-07:00Many thanks to all who have commented on this post...Many thanks to all who have commented on this post. I will try to answer all the issues raised:<br /><br />1) Laura Ann: please forward any contacts you have to me, and I will send them along to the article's authors.<br /><br />2) Tammy: No, this has not been done, though in the bookBuried in Ice: A Time Quest Book, there are artist's renditions of Torrington and others which answer reasonably well.<br /><br />3) David: Good question as to Irving relations; his brother, who spoke at his funeral, was a Major General in the Army; relations ought to be traceable.<br /><br />4) Jonathan: Excellent point. John Goodsir, as fate would have it, is buried in the same cemetery as Irving, Edinburgh's Dean Cemetery -- I found a moving description of his funeral procession, led by two hundred of his pupils, and a description of his granite obelisk, with the simple inscription "John Goodsir, Anatomist" -- on its side was engraved, at the request of the Rev. J.T. Goodsir, a logarithmic spiral "because it interprets the form of every molluscan shell." It would be a solemn affair to dig under such a memorial, but one the Anatomist would, I feel confident, understand.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-31472568014709492662011-03-22T16:04:40.327-07:002011-03-22T16:04:40.327-07:00Collateral descendants of Goodsir would be great, ...Collateral descendants of Goodsir would be great, but I wonder if it might be even better to go in the other direction and see if it were possible to get a DNA sample from the remains of either of his parents (or his distinguished brother)? Since they were closer generationally than any living person would be, the proportion of shared DNA would be greater, and so a match theoretically easier to establish. There's also the benefit that their whereabouts might be easier to track down ...<br /><br />Having said all that of course, if it's possible to deduce Jefferson's liaison with Sally Hemmings (now more than two centuries ago) from currently living people, it should be do-able for Goodsir.Jonathan Dorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03975776400383493935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-52526029445548947482011-03-22T08:18:23.450-07:002011-03-22T08:18:23.450-07:00A couple days late, but the story appears on page ...A couple days late, but the story appears on page 3 of today's "Ottawa Citizen" newspaper under the headline, "CSI Nunavut".<br /><br />Don't know how factual it is, but one thing the article mentions is that, "Remarkably, the mystery was unlocked thanks to reconstruction of the dead man's face and a chemical probe of his teeth - modern-day scientific techniques that evolved, in part, from the discoveries of a pioneering 19th-century anatomist named John Goodsir: Harry's own brother."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-66287230941394725152011-03-21T19:10:17.098-07:002011-03-21T19:10:17.098-07:00Thanks for the effort, William! I hope you have su...Thanks for the effort, William! I hope you have success!David Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17034891361926618042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-83657224523027234782011-03-21T13:38:18.531-07:002011-03-21T13:38:18.531-07:00I'm trying to co-ordinate an intensive attempt...I'm trying to co-ordinate an intensive attempt to trace all Goodsir's present-day relatives to see if we can get a DNA sample which might, or might not, match that from the Greenwich skeleton.<br /><br />If anyone has any information which might help I'd be much obliged if they could contact me.<br /><br />Thanks and apologies for hijacking your blog, Russell,<br /><br />WilliamAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02873157602415481625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-34831274901624838592011-03-21T13:24:23.207-07:002011-03-21T13:24:23.207-07:00How neat.
Have they ever done a reconstruction of...How neat.<br /><br />Have they ever done a reconstruction of the bodies on Beechy Island, so see how they looked like before they got sick and died?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03114297873049218224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-47818842577254940502011-03-21T12:59:16.376-07:002011-03-21T12:59:16.376-07:00How exciting! I actually have a Harry Goodsir fac...How exciting! I actually have a Harry Goodsir facebook page (I'm not related, just took a liking to his history) and several people have contacted me claiming that they think they may be related to him.Laura Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13741177811506718222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-9011073800443009802011-03-21T07:42:36.792-07:002011-03-21T07:42:36.792-07:00Wow! This is exciting news! I hope family can be f...Wow! This is exciting news! I hope family can be found so that DNA comparisons may be made. <br /><br />On the issue of testing the Schwatka-returned remains identified as John Irving: do we have Irving descendants alive to help with this should it ever be thought reasonable? I remember you wrote last year that there are known Franklin family descendants with us today, but at the time you weren't sure such was the case for Lt. Irving.David Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17034891361926618042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-11708890146852738802011-03-21T06:39:44.037-07:002011-03-21T06:39:44.037-07:00VERY interesting stuff Russell. Agree with your c...VERY interesting stuff Russell. Agree with your comments. Hope someone can do a comparison of the DNA soon, now that the technique exists and is almost foolproof. Would save a lot of time and effort. <br /><br />I now wonder why one wouldn't start with that, unless it's all about not ruining the intrigue.Ron Carlson, RA ILLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586299249570301685noreply@blogger.com