No DNA link found between Jamestown founder, remains But scientists still believe skeleton is Gosnold's By SONJA BARISIC Associated Press Writer November 10, 2005, 11:10 AM EST JAMESTOWN -- DNA testing turned out to be of no help, but scientists say other evidence still makes them confident that a skeleton discovered at Jamestown belongs to an unsung founder of the first permanent English settlement in North America. American and British scientists had hoped to use DNA from a woman buried in England to prove that the Jamestown remains are of Bartholomew Gosnold. He was captain of one of three ships that carried settlers from England to Virginia almost 400 years ago. Tests showed the woman was not Gosnold's sister, as had been thought, nor even a blood relative, the nonprofit Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities announced Thursday. Scientists working with skeletal remains can only trace DNA through maternal relatives. Since researchers know of no Gosnold relative who can provide suitable DNA for testing, "we will continue to rely on archaeological and forensic evidence, which ... strongly indicates that we have found Gosnold's grave," Bill Kelso, APVA director of archaeology at Jamestown, said in a statement. The nearly intact skeleton found in 2002 near the site of the Jamestown fort is that of a European man in his mid- to late 30s, scientists determined. Gosnold, a native of Suffolk, England, was 36 when he died after an illness in August 1607, three months after arriving in Virginia. Another compelling bit of evidence is a decorative captain's staff that was found on the lid of the coffin. "We have never found any other ceremonial objects in Jamestown burials, so we know this was someone very special," Kelso said. He also said coffin burials traditionally were reserved for people of higher status. Gosnold largely has been unrecognized by historians, who relied on written accounts by other settlers, notably Capt. John Smith. Gosnold, a former privateer, discovered and named Massachusetts' Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard in 1602. In 1605, he began planning the Jamestown Colony with Smith, who described Gosnold as "the prime mover behind the settlement." The project to conclusively identify the skeleton came as preparations to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's founding are under way. In June, researchers led by Kelso obtained a sample of bone from a woman in an unmarked grave under the floor of All Saints Church in Shelley, England, which British researchers had identified as the likely location of Elizabeth Gosnold Tilney's remains. It was the first time the Church of England had authorized this type of research for scientific purposes. Douglas Owsley, forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., oversaw the testing of the sample. He said microscopic analysis indicated the woman was about 50, making her about 24 years too young to be Gosnold's sister. Instead, that skeleton likely belongs to Anne Framlingham, who married into the family of the husband of Gosnold's sister. Attempts to find the remains of Gosnold's niece, Katherine Blackerby, at another church in England were unsuccessful. On the Net: Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities: http://www.apva.org Historic Jamestowne, http://www.historicjamestowne.org