The Jack Friend Research Library
The Jack Friend Research Library at the History Museum of Mobile is open to researchers interested in the social, political, and economic history of Mobile and south Alabama. Located on the second floor of the History Museum (Room 260), the library is named in honor of Jack Friend, a noted Mobile historian whose book West Wind, Flood Tide is considered the authoritative account of the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Researchers are required to contact us ahead of time to ensure that we will be open, that the collection of interest is available, and that adequate staff will be on hand.
If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact:
Charles Torrey
Research Historian
251-301-0275
torrey@historymuseumofmobile.com
Highlights of the Collection
The Jack Friend Research Library contains primary source and reference material on a variety of topics. The library is particularly rich in the areas of:
- Biographies of Prominent Mobilians
- Mardi Gras
- Mobile Business Histories
- Crime & Punishment
- The Immigrant Experience
The library maintains a broad selection of subject files, compiled over the years by the museum’s research historian, Charles Torrey.
Creole Fire Company Records
The Creole Fire Company chronicles the activities of Mobile’s Creole volunteer firemen. This extensive collection includes manuscripts, photographs, and artifacts, and is a supplement to the records of the Creole Social Club (see below.) Chartered in 1819, the club was a vital, and well-respected, organization that not only fought fires but formed a cohesive, recognizable community. The company made small loans to its members, hosted parades that attracted large crowds, and challenged laws that discriminated against Creoles.
Creole Social Club Records
The records of the Creole Social Club (1850s – 1880s) include the organization’s monthly minutes, and minutes of certain committees, as well as correspondence, receipts, governing documents, and other business records, and a small selection of photographs.
Caldwell Delaney Collection
A variety of correspondence, articles, manuscripts, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other published materials relating to the history of Mobile and south Alabama collected over a fifty-year period by historian Caldwell Delaney, the first director of the History Museum of Mobile.
Jack Friend Collection
Research materials collected by the late historian for his book West Wind, Flood Tide: The Battle of Mobile Bay.
Mary McNeil Fenollosa Collection
Ranging from the 1890s to the 1940s, the collection contains the correspondence, books, pamphlets and diaries of Mobile author Mary McNeil Fenollosa who published several acclaimed books on topics ranging from the American South to post-Imperial Japan under the pen name Sidney McCall. For more information about Fenollosa’s life and work, click here.
Thomas M. McMillan Collection
The Thomas M. McMillan Collection contains a wide variety of books, manuscripts, and photographs pertaining to the Civil War from well-known figures such as Generals Robert E. Lee, P. G. T. Beauregard, Admiral David Farragut, and Secretary of Navy Gideon Welles. The collection also contains a wealth of information on life in Mobile and south Alabama during the Civil War, including personal and business correspondence, slavery in the Urban South, receipts and bills of Confederate officers located near Mobile, information on the defenses of Mobile, and the Battle of Mobile Bay.
William T. Mumford Diaries
Lieutenant William T. Mumford was a Confederate artillery officer who traveled across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana during the Civil War. His two diaries (the first dated September 10, 1862 - October 24, 1864, and the second November 24, 1864 - May 29, 1865) offer vivid details of troop life throughout the war, including movements, events, sickness, gossip, weather, and pay.
Yuille Family Collection
Accession: 1801
The Yuille family immigrated to Mobile from Scotland in the early 1820s. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, clippings, booklets, ledgers, and personal journals which detail the family’s long history and their importance to banking in Mobile.
Online Guides and Resources
New records will be periodically added to this section.
Click here to view WWI and WWII casualty lists for Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
Click here to view the Resources and Links page.