Well, this is a new approach to genetic genealogy. The attempts to identify remains found in the walls of the Jamestown, Virginia fort are covered in Tests close in on 400-year-old Jamestown bones' identity. This is the line that caught my attention:
"I still think the evidence lines up, until proven otherwise, that we have Gosnold."
So far, none of the testing done has confirmed the identify as Gosnold. In fact, the tests done to date seem to make a case that it's not Gosnold. The ideal solution would be to find a living mtDNA-relative of Gosnold. Previous efforts relied on disinterred remains of his sister in England, but how can you be sure you've got the right set of remains when you're dealing with 400 year old graves? So it's probably not a huge surprise that the mtDNA of the Jamestown skeleton and the alleged sister did not match. Finding a living mtDNA relative would be a daunting task -- 400 years of maternal lines -- but it just might be possible. Of course, the clock is ticking since Jamestown's 400th starts in 2007.
And BTW, as a part-time Williamsburg resident, I'm delighted to hear that Queen Elizabeth will be coming back! She came for the 350th, so how appropriate that she'll be there for the 400th!