I'd rather not know. They say it's Jones it's Jones.
In this situation there is nothing that DNA can do for you; you have no reliable evidence for comparison.
Jimmy Hoffa?
Well, such revelation would shatter my entire world.
I didn't even know the Led Zeppelin bassist was dead. ;)
After the American Revolution, Jones served as a Rear Admiral in the service of Empress Catherine of Russia, but returned to Paris in 1790. He died in Paris at the age of 45 on 18 July 1792. He was buried in St. Louis Cemetery, which belonged to the French royal family. Four years later, France's revolutionary government sold the property and the cemetery was forgotten.
In 1845, Col. John H. Sherburne began a campaign to return Jones' remains to the United States. He wrote Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft and requested the body be brought home aboard a ship of the Mediterrean Squadron. Six years later, preliminary arrangements were made, but the plans fell through when several of Jones' Scottish relatives objected. Had they not, another problem would have arisen. Jones was in an unmarked grave and no one knew exactly where that was.
American Ambassador Horace Porter began a systematic search for it in 1899. The burial place and Jones' body was discovered in April 1905. President Theodore Roosevelt sent four cruisers to bring it back to the U.S., and these ships were escorted up the Chesapeake Bay by seven battleships.
On 26 January 1913, the remains of John Paul Jones were laid to rest in the crypt of the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Md. Today, a Marine honor guard stands duty whenever the crypt is open to the public. Public visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
If it were a question of justice or a crime, it might be worth digging up his brother to see if they can get enough DNA for a match. But, depending on how and where his brother was buried, there may not be any DNA to sample. (Sometimes there's literally nothing left but dust or a "shadow" in the ground, particularly if the soil is acidic.)
Since nobody's committed a crime and the existing evidence tallies, it doesn't seem worth disturbing everybody just on the off chance that the newspapers can have a field day over a possible mistaken identity.
Huh? He interprets dead people's conversations?
FYI
The crypt should not, and I pray will not, be disturbed.
Let it go. We don't need to know everything about everyone. Why take a Navy icon and ruin it? Oh, wait...
This question has raged for a Century, and it isn't likely to ever be answered...
This is an article from The Annapolis Capital, not so affectionately nicknamed "The Annapolis Crabwrapper." To say the paper is "news lite" is an understatement. Since it reports little real news, the editors love to dredge up controversy to gain attention. Sometimes it works.
Man, I certainly hope nobody ever squabbles over my giblets this way. Fertilizing a vegetable garden seems dignified by comparison.
Who else could it be?
Maryland “Freak State” PING!