There has been a big hullabaloo recently about the fact that Ben Affleck had a slaveowner ancestor that he discovered during the research and filming of PBS' Finding Your Roots show.  You can read all about the "controversy" elsewhere, so I won't repeat it.  .

It is no big surprise that this has been made into such a big deal, because there are too many journalists with too much time on their hands, their own agendas, and the post-Watergate trend towards trying to bring people down, no matter what.

In defense of genealogy and history, accuracy is paramount - of that there is no doubt.  I have no slaveowners in my family tree, but I do have an uncle who pimped out his stepdaughter and went to prison for it. It doesn't embarrass me at all and I have written about it. If I had a slaveowner ancestor, I would not shy away from it.

There are a few genealogists who have weighed in, including one of my favorites.  They claim that history should remain pure and have criticized Mr. Affleck for trying to "change history."

BUT - here's the rub. There is a difference between trying to change history and to publicize history, such that the subject (in this case Mr. Affleck) would be personally derided for his ancestors history (which with his media history likely would have happened).
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Unless you have walked in Mr. Affleck's shoes, you really should be cautious in your criticism.

I am not a fan nor am I not a fan.  I have enjoyed several of his movies and others not so much. But I have not been in the public eye to the crazy degree like Mr. Affleck and have had the constant lens upon me. Remember "Bennifer" and that media fiasco? How about his family, especially his children and the constant paparazzi obsession with interfering in their daily lives? Only recent legislation that he and his wife played an active role in made that ebb. Oh and when it was announced that he was cast to play Batman, people went ape shit.

I don't know Mr. Affleck - maybe he's a nice guy, maybe he's a jerk - most likely somewhere in between like the majority of humans.  But I think it is pretty safe to say that he is not one of the most well-liked celebrities - for whatever reason.

I may be wrong but this negative attitude may have crept into his thinking.  You would be quite sensitive too,of you were disliked, examined, and chased as much as he has.

So judge the general attitude about changing history. But be a bit careful about judging a person that you don't know. And who by the way is not a genealogist and doesn't know the "rules."

P.S. - Mr. Affleck apologized and is a big boy - I am sure he can take the criticism. Look on the bright side, Ben - be happy that a Fox News host didn't call you fat as they intimated about Kelly Clarkson. 

The entries below contain lists of online collections as well as links to hundreds of sites that you can search for free at home.  It does not include free library accessible collections such as Gale and ProQuest.

The first set contains 51 separate articles that contain links to free sites and collections for each state and DC.

The second set contains lists of collections and links that represent more than one state that can be searched at one time.

State Collections and Links

• Alabama 
  
• Alaska 
  
• Arizona 
  
• Arkansas 
  
• California 
  
• Colorado 
  
• Connecticut 
  
• Delaware 
  
• District of Columbia 
  
• Florida 
  
• Georgia 
  
• Hawaii 
  
• Idaho 
  
• Illinois 
  
• Indiana 
  
• Iowa 
  
• Kansas 
  
• Kentucky 
  
• Louisiana 
  
• Maine 
  
• Maryland 
  
• Massachusetts 
  
• Michigan 
  
• Minnesota 
  
• Mississippi 
  
• Missouri 
  
• Montana 
  
• Nebraska 
  
• Nevada 
  
• New Hampshire 
  
• New Jersey 
  
• New Mexico 
  
• New York 
  
• North Carolina 
  
• North Dakota 
  
• Ohio 
  
• Oklahoma 
  
• Oregon 
  
• Pennsylvania 
  
• Rhode Island 
  
• South Carolina 
  
• South Dakota 
  
• Tennessee 
  
• Texas 
  
• Utah 
  
• Vermont 
  
• Virginia 
  
• Washington 
  
• West Virginia 
  
• Wisconsin 
  
• Wyoming

Multi-State and Specialty Collections And Links

These are all collections and lists of links that include more than one state that you can search at one time.

• Google News Archive
  
• African-American Online Historical Newspapers Summary
• Chronicling America
• Farming Newspapers
• Jewish-American Historical Newspapers Summary
• NewspaperCat
• Elephind
  
• Small Town Papers
• Advantage Preservation
• Fulton County Postcards

Keep track of everything about historical newspaper research by visiting the Newspapers! Page on this website - it contains articles about how to research old newspapers successfully, tips and techniques, worldwide links and collections, webinars, tutorials and more.

Actually there are several reasons you can't find what you are looking for, but there is one BIG reason.












Likely candidates are:

• The newspaper you are seeking isn't online at all - this could be because it hasn't been digitized, or it has, but not for the date ranges you are seeking. Check out this Directory from the Library of Congress for help.

• You need to improve your searching skills. Your ability to put together a "winning" search criteria is lacking. Keep working at it and read about different search techniques to build your skills.

But the most likely reason is below.

Take a look at the two images below.  They demonstrate why you can't find the articles that you are seeking.

The one on the left is a newspaper article from the Evansville Daily Journal in 1855.  The one on the right is the index that was created after the article's page was scanned and the OCR process applied. Searching for something in that index won't yield many positive search results would it?

You see, positive results depend on the index that is created after the newspapers are scanned and the OCR process is applied.  It is all about the index.  If the quality of the original materials, or the scanning process, or the OCR software does not accurately result in the index having the exact letters (or at least a significant percentage of accurate letters), you just won't be able to match your search criteria to the index.

Do not get frustrated - some sites do a better job than others, but generally the age and quality of the originals will dictate the quality of the resulting index. It is that simple.