DNA Testing Reveals the Putative Identity of JB55, a 19th Century Vampire Buried in Griswold, Connecticut

Abstract

In 1990 in Griswold, Connecticut, archaeologists excavated a burial found in a “skull and crossbones” orientation. The lid of the 19th century coffin had brass tacks that spelled “JB55”, the initials of the person lying there and age at death. JB55 had evidence of chronic pulmonary infection, perhaps tuberculosis. It is possible that JB55 was deemed a vampire due to his disease, and therefore had to be “killed” by mutilating his corpse. In an attempt to reveal the identity of JB55, DNA testing was performed. Ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis using the Precision ID Ancestry Panel indicated European ancestry. A full Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) profile was obtained, belonging to haplogroup R1b. When the Y-STR profile was searched in the publicly accessible FamilyTreeDNA R1b Project website, the two closest matches had the surname “Barber”. A search of historical records led to a death notice mentioning John Barber, whose son Nathan Barber was buried in Griswold in 1826. The description of Nathan Barber closely fits the burial of “NB13,” found near JB55. By applying modern forensic DNA tools to a historical mystery, the identity of JB55 as John Barber, the 19th century Connecticut vampire, has been revealed.

The FORCE Panel: An All-in-One SNP Marker Set for Confirming Investigative Genetic Genealogy Leads and for General Forensic Applications

“…Such methods are very sensitive and capable of providing authentic mtDNA data from the most challenging of forensic specimens. These MPS workflows have also been adapted for SNP profiling of degraded DNA specimens [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Large SNP multiplexes suitable for extended kinship analysis can be readily enriched using custom hybridization capture [ 14 ].…”

The Physiology and Mythology of the "Domestic" and the "Alien": The Model of the Vampire in Serbian Traditional Culture and Popular Culture

“…Слична веровања -о неупокојеним људима или оживљеним лешевима који се враћају да малтретирају живе на различите начине (укључујући дављење и испијање крви), постојала су у различитим културама, од древне Месопотамије до шеснаестовековних Саске и Шлезије, на пример, а у дванаестом и тринаестом веку забележена су у Енглеској, рецимо, у облику блиском ономе којег познајемо из српске етнографије -да се ради о људима који ни за живота "нису били добри", који се враћају да наносе штету свом селу и муче своје рођаке и чије су гробове мештани били принуђени да пронађу, откопају, пробију њихова тела оштрим предметима и спале их. Напокон, постојање праксе оштећивања лешева и посебног начина сахрањивања одређених људи, као последица веровања у вампире, потврђено је форензички у деветнеастовековном Конектикату, у САД (Wilson 1998;Burkhart 1993;Stetson 1896;Keyworth 2006;Daniels-Higginbotham et al 2019). С друге стране, неки од оних текстова који иоле аналитички узимају у обзир и "традицијског вампира" (поред "савременог), као да покушавају да рационализују веровање у то митско биће.…”

The FORCE panel: An all-in-one SNP marker set for confirming investigative genetic genealogy leads and for general forensic applications

“…The use of these reference and bone samples was approved by the Defense Health Agency Office of Research Protections (Protocol # DHQ-20-2073). Existing DNA extracts and associated reagent blanks (RBs) from the five skeletal samples as well as JB55 [12] were obtained. During previous processing of these samples, DNA was extracted from 0.2-1.0 g bone powder.…”

“…Such methods are very sensitive and capable of providing authentic mtDNA data from the most challenging of forensic specimens. These MPS workflows have also been adapted for SNP profiling of degraded DNA specimens [11][12][13][14][15]. Large SNP multiplexes suitable for extended kinship analysis can be readily enriched using custom hybridization capture [14].…”