NJ Beach Remains Identified as 1844 Ship Captain

Skeletal remains discovered on South Jersey beaches between 1995 and 2013 have been identified as those of Henry Goodsell, the 29-year-old captain of the schooner Oriental, which sank off Brigantine Shoal in 1844 while transporting marble to Philadelphia. The remains had been called 'Scattered Man John Doe' because they were widely dispersed. The identification was achieved through a collaboration between the New Jersey State Police and Ramapo College’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center, where students traced Goodsell's ancestry back to 17th-century Connecticut and used archival records to confirm the shipwreck. DNA from a living descendant confirmed the identification in 2025, resolving one of the oldest cold cases with investigative genetic genealogy. The Oriental sank with all five crew members aboard after likely springing a leak. Authorities noted the case as a milestone for modern science in solving historical mysteries.