Remains of George Washington's long-lost grandnephews are identified using DNA ... trends now
Unmarked graves belonging to the grandnephews of the first US president have been identified after 200 years using DNA.
The bones belonged to Samuel Walter Washington and George Steptoe Washington Jr., along with their mother, Lucy Payne Washington.
The graves were discovered during a 1999 excavation at the Harewood Family Cemetery in Charles Town, West Virginia that aimed to find the remains of Washington's younger brother, Samuel Washington.
Researchers at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used DNA from the fragmented bones and a living descendent, Samuel Walter Washington.
This marks a significant discovery for the researchers who said their findings could lead them to identify service members extending back to World War II.
Researchers identified the remains of three of George Washington's ancestors using new DNA sequencing methods
George Steptoe Washington Jr. lived from 1806 to 1831 and was buried in the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia
Samuel Walter Washington lived from November 16, 1734 to September 26, 1781 and was a planter, politician and military officer buried at the Harewood Family Cemetery in West Virginia
In the study, the researchers had set out to identify all the unmarked graves at Harewood Cemetery and believed the recovered remains belonged to George Washington's descendants, but conducted DNA tests to be sure.
The researchers believed the recovered remains belonged to Washington's descendants because the burial ground sat on the land of the Harewood Estate, which was built by Samuel Walter Washington in 1977.
The most common form of DNA profiling is short tandem repeat analysis - which repeats DNA sequences to verify family connections - but it is often difficult, if not impossible, to use this method on degraded remains.
People who were embalmed using post-war techniques - such as Samuel, Lucy, and George Steptoe - involved formaldehyde which can damage the DNA.
Instead, the researchers performed a series of DNA tests that compared the remains to a living descendant: S.W. Washington.
The researchers analyzed the Y chromosomes to determine the paternal relationship and
