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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Mobile (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Mobile. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Mobile is located in Mobile County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Alabama's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Mobile. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mobile:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of Mobile)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mobile, with the one closest to Mobile listed first.
    • Prichard
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chickasaw
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chickasaw have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
      • Chickasaw is located in Mobile County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,659 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chickasaw <1>
    • Eight Mile
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eight Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eight Mile
      • Eight Mile is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eight Mile <1>
    • Country Club Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Club Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
    • Saraland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saraland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saraland
      • Saraland is located in Mobile County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,671 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saraland <1>
    • Tillmans Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
    • Satsuma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satsuma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsuma
      • Satsuma is located in Mobile County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Satsuma <1>
    • Theodore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Theodore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theodore
      • Theodore is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Theodore <1>
    • Creola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Creola is located in Mobile County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
    • Semmes
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellefontaine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
      • Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
    • Axis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axis
      • Axis is located in Mobile County
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mobile, with the one closest to Mobile listed first.
    • Spanish Fort
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Park City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
    • Daphne
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daphne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphne
      • Daphne is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,719 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daphne <1>
    • Bromley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bromley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
      • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
    • Montrose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairhope
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Stapleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Point Clear
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Clear have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Clear
      • Point Clear is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Clear <1>
    • Loxley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loxley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loxley
      • Loxley is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loxley <1>
    • Bay Minette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Minette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Minette
      • Bay Minette is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,509 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay Minette <1>
    • Clay City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
      • Clay City is located in Baldwin County
    • Silverhill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverhill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverhill
      • Silverhill is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverhill <1>
  • George County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mobile, with the one closest to Mobile listed first.
    • Howell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
    • Agricola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mobile, with the one closest to Mobile listed first.
    • Big Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
    • Hurley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
      • Hurley is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurley <1>
    • Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
    • Orange Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mobile, see our County-by-County Page for Mobile.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mobile ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 144 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mobile.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mobile. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mobile and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mobile.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> of Mobile.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Mobile:

Cemeteries Near Mobile ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mobile.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mobile covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mobile, with the one closest to Mobile listed first.

  • Church Street Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Church Street Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Church Street Cemetery
  • Spanish Burial Grounds
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spanish Burial Grounds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spanish Burial Grounds
  • Magnolia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mobile National Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Little Magnolia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Ahavas Chesed Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jewish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jewish Cemetery
  • Reformed Temple Jewish Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Mobile.
    • The Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2279783 <4>
  • Plateau Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plateau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plateau Cemetery
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oaklawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oaklawn Cemetery
  • St. Austin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Austin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Austin Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #25954 <4>
  • Continue List   (198 more) ...
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Visitation Monastery Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Visitation Monastery Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Visitation Monastery Cemetery
    • Carmelite Monastery Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carmelite Monastery Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carmelite Monastery Cemetery

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mobile had a population of 31,076 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mobile had a population of 187,746 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Mobile, with the one closest to Mobile listed first.

  • Plateau
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plateau have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
    • Plateau is located in Mobile County
  • Cox
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cox have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
  • Prichard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Whistler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whistler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
    • Whistler is located in Mobile County
  • Spring Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
  • Daphne
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daphne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphne
    • Daphne is located in Baldwin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,719 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daphne <1>
  • Kushla
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kushla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
    • Kushla is located in Mobile County
  • Bromley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bromley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
    • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
  • Theodore
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Theodore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theodore
    • Theodore is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Theodore <1>
  • Montrose
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Creola
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
    • Creola is located in Mobile County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
  • Oak Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oak Grove is located in Mobile County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Point Clear
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Clear have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Clear
      • Point Clear is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Clear <1>
    • Saint Elmo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
      • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
    • Fowl River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowl River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
      • Fowl River is located in Mobile County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mobile. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mobile.

The official website for Mobile: www.cityofmobile.org/

The official website for Mobile County: www.mobilecounty.org/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mobile) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mobile. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.6916, Longitude: -88.0461    
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Mobile, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024