How a shipwreck, a DNA test and Facebook solved a family puzzle

A DNA test and a Facebook connection helped a family resolve a century-old mystery tied to an Iceland shipwreck. Yvette Holly, from Hull, took a DNA test two years ago and learned she was half Icelandic. Using a genealogy site, she identified a potential cousin, Barour Jon Grimsson (Bari). His Facebook profile showed a mutual connection to Alec Gill, a historian of Hull’s fishing industry, who linked the family to the steam trawler Pamela. In 1915, the Pamela stranded in a fjord near where Bari’s grandfather lived. After abandonment, parts—including the ship’s copper-lettered sign—survived and were later repurposed locally.