Mobile County was created by proclamation of Gov. Holmes of the Mississippi Territory on Dec. 18, 1812. Mobile County is located in the southwestern corner of Alabama, and is bordered by Mississippi on the west, Washington County on the north, Baldwin County and Mobile Bay on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. It encompasses 1,238 square miles. The city of Mobile is the county seat. Both the city and the county derive their name from Fort Louis de la Mobile, a French fortification erected near Mount Vernon in 1702. The word Mobile is believed to come from a Choctaw Indian word for “paddlers.” The area was occupied by the French from 1702–1763, by the British from 1763–1780, and by the Spanish from 1780–1813. Courthouse fires occurred in 1823, 1840, and 1872. Other towns include Citronelle, Bayou LeBatre, and Theodore.
Probate Office: 109 Government Street, Room 105, Mobile, AL 36602.
Research Support Groups: Mobile Genealogy Society, Inc., P. O. Box 6224, Mobile, AL 36660-6224. Publication: Deep South Genealogical Quarterly.
Among Records Held: Records Index Marriages, 1865–1967; Marriage, 1865–1931; Deed Records, 1851–1855, 1912–1927; Orphan Court, 1850*; Voter Lists*, 1844, 1920; Wills, 1812–1957.
*Various records; **Women’s voter list.
Other: Slave Records, 1820–1850; Emancipations, 1818–1859; Estate Appraisals, 1818–1822; Orphan’s Asylum, 1841–1850; Colonial Records (Spanish, French, English), 1788–1798; Child Labor Affidavits, 1908–1915; Estray Book, 1891–1923; Boat Book, 1895–1897; ACTS of Alabama, 1848–1850; Apprenticeships, 1814–1850; Auctions, 1848; Assessment Protest, 1849; Census Moi Louis Island, 1850; Treasurer’s Report, 1814–1850.