The ‘embarrassing’ truth about slave-owning ancestor that Ben Affleck tried to cover up

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Ben Affleck said the very thought of having a slave-owning ancestor "left a bad taste in my mouth". Photo: AP

Published: 8:38am, 18 May 2015

A family death in 1858 left actor Ben Affleck’s great-great-great grandfather with legal custody of his mother-in-law’s most valuable property — her slaves.

There was Cuffey, whose value was estimated at US$500 in handwritten estate records still on file with the Chatham County Probate Court. There were Henry and James, valued at US$1,000 apiece. And Robert and Becky, worth US$600 as a couple. They were among 24 slaves willed to Benjamin L. Cole with instructions to turn them over to his three sons once they reached adulthood.

The evidence that Cole owned slaves has emerged after Affleck asked the Public Broadcasting Service and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates to remove his relative from a TV program exploring Affleck’s family tree. After Affleck’s actions became public in April, the Argo actor and director identified the relative as Benjamin Cole on Twitter. A publicist for Affleck offered no further comment. The Associated Press used historical public records to independently confirm that Cole was Affleck’s ancestor.

The burial site of Benjamin Cole, the great-great-great grandfather of actor Ben Affleck, in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. The site only has a marker for a one-year-old relative, but city records show that at least 10 other relatives, including Cole, are buried in the site. Photo: AP

“I didn’t want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves,” Affleck said in a Facebook post April 21. “I was embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth.”

The 19th century documents offer a window into the life of the Hollywood star’s ancestor and put Benjamin Cole right at the centre of the South’s reckoning with slavery. His family not only owned slaves, but he also served for nearly a decade as sheriff of Chatham County, which includes Savannah, Georgia.