Identified! ME - Jonesport, Wht/OtherMale 60-65, UP15307, in ocean, clothes, watch, Jul'00 - Philip Kahn

[Susikatze]

Hey, you! We just came out of Passover, I wish for you to come home of that terrible state of namelessness. You deserve your name, a decent Jewish burial and someone who remembers your name.

 

[DS2021]

His highest match is 175.6 CM he has 416 matches over 20 CM. If I'm reading the chart correctly

 

[Susikatze]

That is exactly what i am talking about.

 

[Alleykins]

How long has this John Doe been in the pipeline? I can't remember, sorry.
I'm no expert, but I think the 175 cm closest match would put that person around the third cousin range or so?
I tried to think of who my third cousins could be and if I would know them or of them. It was hit or miss, depending on what side of the family it was. My father's side? Forget it. But my maternal line was well researched, so If I couldn't come up with the name of the deceased, I'm confident I could find someone who could. The only gray area would be my maternal grandfather's line. Three generations of women had babies out of wedlock and didn't tell anyone who their fathers were. So the task would be tricky, but not impossible.

 

[DS2021]

How long has this John Doe been in the pipeline? I can't remember, sorry

His DNA Doe Project page says posted on December 5th 2019.

 

[djanga]

How long has this John Doe been in the pipeline? I can't remember, sorry.
I'm no expert, but I think the 175 cm closest match would put that person around the third cousin range or so?
I tried to think of who my third cousins could be and if I would know them or of them. It was hit or miss, depending on what side of the family it was. My father's side? Forget it. But my maternal line was well researched, so If I couldn't come up with the name of the deceased, I'm confident I could find someone who could. The only gray area would be my maternal grandfather's line. Three generations of women had babies out of wedlock and didn't tell anyone who their fathers were. So the task would be tricky, but not impossible.

We are talking about Jewish genealogy, it is characterized with high endogamy and a lot of distant matches, so 175 cM can be much further than 3rd cousin.

 

[Susikatze]

And if it is a 3rd cousin, then it is still hard to build family trees. Because second or third cousins marrying over and over again over centuries. Plus the same first and last names for centuries and also name changes in the last century.

Like other highly endogamous populations. Certain German American, Irish American, Italian American and Latino American communities have similar challenges.
I am working on a German village family tree and it has the same jungle of endogamy. It just got out of that two generations ago, the grandparents were still 2nd cousins.

 

[Susikatze]

Ashkenazi genealogy can be successful on the 2nd cousin level, it is close enough not to be troubled by endogamy. 3rd cousin can be reliable but does not have to.

 

[BigKeyManatee]

Going to put this out there knowing that it might not be popular…but:
Anytime a fully clothed older male is found in the range of 30 miles off shore I believe that legitimate burial at sea should be not ruled out. Significantly, such as with this case, when autopsy finds numerous disease processes active at time of death.

Granted, this gentleman was not found fully clothed, but being in the Gulf of Maine long enough to become partially skeletonized answers why that is.

I submit that this UID’s chronic heart, lung and kidney diseases would make the demanding job of fisherman difficult for someone so compromised, and I don’t believe that he died on the job. It is possible of course that he had lived a sea-going life, even having been a fishing boat owner, or a boat captain.

The clothing brands he was found in were utilitarian, as someone said, like those the Port Authority would mandate for employees. Maybe not something a paying cruise passenger might choose to pack for their vacation, or that most landlubbers would choose to wear on their final voyage.

Unless of course, nothing better represented the maritime life that this man chose to live, and his family knew best. Perhaps they thought it most fitting for him to wear his work clothes on his final day at sea.

BTW, here’s the EPA Burial at Sea Report that can be filled out after the fact. Seems rather…loosey-goosey, no?
It would be great if someone knew how to access reports on where, and how many burials at sea were reported for 2000?
Burial at Sea Report (BASR) | Burial at Sea Reporting System | US EPA

 

[Caring1]

5 Missing Person Exclusions:

Missing Person / NamUs #MP1176Jeremy Crocker
Date of Last ContactDecember 12, 1996
StateCA
CountyLos Angeles

Missing Person / NamUs #MP38910John Malloch
Date of Last ContactSeptember 26, 1965
StateME
CountyKennebec

Missing Person / NamUs #MP701Michael Nash
Date of Last ContactApril 10, 2000
StateNY
CountyBronx

Missing Person / NamUs #MP2797Joseph Halpern
Date of Last ContactAugust 15, 1933
StateCO
CountyLarimer

Missing Person / NamUs #MP23215Philip Letarte
Date of Last ContactJune 02, 1986
StateME
CountyAroostook

 

[DS2021]

It would be great if someone knew how to access reports on where, and how many burials at sea were reported for 2000?

I've reached out for more info. I will keep you updated.

 

[Susikatze]

With a sea burial, they sometimes just dump the body into the sea? I thought it was just cremains...
So how do they make sure there are not hundreds of "buried" bodies showing up at the next coastline?

 

[djanga]

For me the version of sea burial also sounds strange, also because he was not dressed for any burial, but instead had typical casual man’s cloth with two pair of white socks, which he probably was wearing because it was still a bit cold in New England in early spring.

 

[DS2021]

With a sea burial, they sometimes just dump the body into the sea? I thought it was just cremains

Here are the guidelines from the EPA

The MPRSA general permit authorizes burial at sea of non-cremated human remains at locations at least three nautical miles from land and in ocean waters at least 600 feet deep. In certain areas, specifically east central Florida, the Dry Tortugas, Florida and west of Pensacola, Florida to the Mississippi River Delta, such at sea burials are only authorized in ocean waters at least 1,800 feet deep. Refer to 40 CFR 229.1(a)(2) for details. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the remains sink to the bottom rapidly and permanently.

 

[djanga]

I always thought our John Doe could be Joseph Morawski from New Hampshire

Joseph Morawski – The Charley Project

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Here are the guidelines from the EPA

Interesting. I guess this must happen every now and then on commercial shipping or fishing vessels that are ocean bound for many days at a time. I doubt the other sailors will always know, or be able to consult, the EPA guidelines, and probably wouldn't otherwise have any experience doing this, so it's likely results vary.

On the other hand, you can probably rule out anyone dying on a cruise ship.
Do Cruise Ships Have Morgues?

 

[Susikatze]

I always thought our John Doe could be Joseph Morawski from New Hampshire

Joseph Morawski – The Charley Project

I think it is a good possibility. However all Morawskis ive found are of nonjewish Polish descent. It does not mean there is no possibility of a jewish morawski, though, surnames are quite a fluid thing.

 

[Susikatze]

Regarding the clothing, outdoorsy type people would also sometimes buy workwear brand clothing because they are sturdy, warm and water repellent. Virtually all my former archeologist colleagues wore work gear or hiking gear when just in office and not doing any digs. Because they loved the casual look, level of comfort, small care effort and philosophy behind those brands.

I dont think he was a fisherman. Just someone who liked good quality clothing that keeps you warm.

 

[DS2021]

I spoke with the person at EPA who manages the New England region. I asked her how many burials at sea occured in the region in the year 2000.she told me
In 2000, Burial at Sea reports were made by mailing paper forms and their paper records retention is typically 10 years so it is unlikely they would have any forms from 2000 on file. However, she planned to be in the office soon and would check into it

She went through the paper records and found three reports for the year 2000. Two are for cremated remains and one is unspecified, however I inquired farther and those remains were female, so unless there are more paper records that have been lost over time I'd say that theory can be ruled out.

It might not hurt to see if he was buried at sea in Canada.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

704UMME