🏛️ Free Historical Newspapers and Court Record Resources
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Free digital gateway to U.S. library, archive, and museum collections
Records: Photographs, letters, maps, books, government documents.
Sources: Aggregates from libraries, museums, and universities across the U.S.
Best for: Visual and historical context; finding records from multiple institutions.
Chronicling America
Free historical newspapers from the Library of Congress
Records: Newspapers from 1789–1963, searchable by name, event, or location.
Bonus: Also offers a U.S. newspaper directory with publication details.
Best for: Obituaries, news events, family milestones.
Ellis Island Foundation
Free searchable passenger arrival records
Records: Immigration data for arrivals at Ellis Island from 1892–1957.
Includes: Ship manifests, passenger lists, and scanned documents.
Best for: Finding immigrant ancestors who came through New York.
PACER (via RECAP)
Free access to many federal U.S. court documents
How: RECAP is a project by CourtListener.com that archives federal court filings originally accessed via PACER.
Records: U.S. District, Bankruptcy, and Appellate courts.
Note: PACER itself is paid, but RECAP provides documents others have already downloaded—free.
[State & County Court Websites]
Many offer free name-based searches or docket lookups
What to search: “[State] court records search” or “[County] court docket lookup”
Examples:
California: https://portal.odyssey.sdcourt.ca.gov
Texas: County clerk websites often have searchable records.
Florida: MyFloridaCounty
🔎 Tip: Most probate, divorce, and small claims records are held at the county level.
National Archives – Court Records
U.S. federal court historical records
Records: Civil, criminal, admiralty, bankruptcy, naturalization cases (pre-1990s).
Search: Through the NARA catalog or by contacting a regional archive.
Best for: Older or historic federal case files.
