NOVA "Arctic Passage" | Arctic Slide Show | PBS

I worked for two years at Prudhoe Bay, and several winters in Bush Alaska schools. The Expedition had abominable luck with arrogance, weather and route, However, IMHO the main culprit was their having the first TIN CANS in the arctic. Not only were they "over soldered" thus giving them Lead Poisoning, but they may have allowed them to freeze, the contents then expanded, the seams were "sprung", air (and microbes) entered, and PTOMAINE POISONING would have been the inevitable result.

Dr. Potter is a great professor, I had the pleasure of taking a few of his courses. Brilliant, yet down to earth, and very well-rounded.

Uh, call me naive, but if your ancestor was on this expedition, wouldn't you not exist because nobody survived this doomed expedition? Well, I suppose that if you're part Inuit or something, your ancestor could have produced a child with a native and then gone on to create your lineage... ^_^

My ancestor Josephus Geater was my 3x great-uncle. He was the son of Richard Geater, who fought at Trafalgar, and Phillis Wilkinson.
Josephius' brother Fred was mt 3x great-grandfather. Any more questions?

Thannoise, interesting. Always wondered about the living relatives of the crew, especially the ratings. John Shaw Torrington, the so-called "Ice Man" Beattie and team exhumed, was found to be the last of his line (even his mother died in childbirth). Hopefully more relatives will come forth and let researchers know "who's who" (especially since the UK is so strict with the Franklin records).

Now that's an interesting thought! A reunion of all descendants of the expedition would be fascinating, don't you think? I wonder how one could organise it?

You could have also been born before the expedition took place.

Have you looked at the video? The expedition started out in 1845. My 3x great-uncle was a member of the crew of the "Erebus". I could hardly be born before one of my ancestors, now could I?

Actually, we did have a reunion of many descendants and relatives of Franklin's officers, in Banbridge, Northern Ireland in January of 08. There were several g-g-g-g-grandnephews and nieces of Crozier, and a large group of descendants of Francis McClintock who discovered the fate of Franklin. There's a photo of some of our group in the Wikipedia entry for Francis Crozier, and the BBC's Radio 4 show "Making History" did a bit on it which you can find online. It was quite the occasion!

My ancestor Josephus Geater was only a humble A.B., not an officer. If any further reunions are planned, how would I find out about them? Is there a "Descendants of Franklin Survivors" list somewhere? If so, I'd be honoured if my name could be added.
Thank you very much for contacting me.