Land Records · 1787 – 1950
D'Olive Family Land Records
The land record of the D'Olive family is the documentary foundation of the family's presence in Alabama. From the original Spanish land grant of 1787 to the mid-twentieth century property transactions of the fifth generation, the deed books and survey plats of Mobile and Baldwin Counties tell the story of a family written on the land.
The Land as Documentary Record
Land records are among the oldest and most reliable sources in American genealogical research. Unlike vital records — which were not systematically kept in Alabama until the late nineteenth century — land records begin with the earliest European settlement and continue in an unbroken chain to the present day. For the D'Olive family, the land record begins with the Spanish colonial land grant of 1787 and extends through more than a century and a half of deeds, surveys, and property transactions.
The D'Olive land records are held primarily at the Mobile County Probate Court, the Baldwin County Probate Court, and the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records database. The original Spanish land grant documents are held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, with copies at the Mobile County Probate Court. Survey plats and field notes are held at the BLM GLO Records office.
This page presents the known land records of the D'Olive family, organized chronologically. Each entry includes a summary of the document, its archival location, and research notes. The land records should be read alongside the probate records, which document the transfer of land through inheritance, and the newspaper archive, which records the public notices required by law for land transactions.
Mobile County · Baldwin County · BLM General Land Office Records
Document Types
An original conveyance of land from a sovereign (Spanish Crown, U.S. Government) to a private individual.
A map prepared by a licensed surveyor establishing the boundaries of a parcel of land by reference to natural features or survey monuments.
A legal instrument conveying title to real property from a grantor to a grantee, recorded in the county deed books.
An American government confirmation of a Spanish or British colonial land grant, issued following the transfer of territory to U.S. jurisdiction.
Annual county tax assessment records documenting property ownership and assessed value, a valuable supplement to deed records.
The surveyor's written record of measurements and observations made during a land survey, the basis for the survey plat.
The foundational land record of the D'Olive family is the Spanish colonial land grant issued to Dominique D'Olive in 1787. This grant, confirmed under American jurisdiction following the transfer of Mobile to the United States in 1813, established the family's legal claim to the Eastern Shore land that bears their name to this day.
Type
Land GrantDate
1787
Acreage
c. 640 acres
Location
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, Mobile County (now Baldwin County), Alabama
Spanish Land Grant — Dominique D'Olive
The original Spanish land grant issued to Dominique D'Olive by Governor Arturo O'Neill of Spanish West Florida in 1787. The grant conveyed approximately 640 acres on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, bounded by D'Olive Creek to the north and Mobile Bay to the west.
Grantor
Spanish Crown / Governor Arturo O'Neill
Grantee
Dominique D'Olive
Archive: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Spanish Land Grant Records; Mobile County Probate Court; BLM General Land Office Records
Research note: The grant was confirmed under American jurisdiction following the transfer of Mobile to the United States in 1813. The confirmation proceedings are documented in the American State Papers, Public Lands series.
Type
Survey PlatDate
c. 1787 – 1800
Acreage
c. 640 acres
Location
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay
Survey of the D'Olive Land Grant
The original survey plat of the D'Olive land grant, prepared by the Spanish colonial survey office. The plat establishes the boundaries of the grant by reference to natural features — D'Olive Creek, Mobile Bay, and the surrounding woodland.
Grantor
Spanish Colonial Survey Office
Grantee
Dominique D'Olive
Archive: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Spanish Colonial Survey Records; BLM General Land Office Records
Research note: The original survey plat may be fragmentary. Cross-reference with the American confirmation survey of c. 1813–1820 for a more complete picture of the grant boundaries.
Following the transfer of Mobile to the United States in 1813, the Spanish land grants were subject to confirmation proceedings under American law. The D'Olive grant was confirmed, and the family's land was resurveyed and entered into the American land record system.
Type
Land Grant ConfirmationDate
c. 1813 – 1820
Acreage
c. 640 acres
Location
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, Baldwin County, Alabama
Confirmation of D'Olive Land Grant — American Jurisdiction
The confirmation of the D'Olive Spanish land grant under American jurisdiction, issued following the transfer of Mobile to the United States in 1813. The confirmed grant was entered into the American land record system and assigned a legal description under the Public Land Survey System.
Grantor
United States Government
Grantee
Heirs of Dominique D'Olive
Archive: American State Papers, Public Lands, Vol. 3–5; Alabama Department of Archives and History; BLM General Land Office Records
Research note: The American State Papers, Public Lands series is the primary source for Spanish land grant confirmations in Alabama. Search for D'Olive in the index.
Type
DeedDate
c. 1820 – 1835
Acreage
Portions of original 640-acre grant
Location
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, Baldwin County, Alabama
Deed — Subdivision of D'Olive Grant, Eastern Shore
Deeds recording the first subdivisions of the original D'Olive land grant in the antebellum period. As the second generation came of age and the original grantee's estate was administered, portions of the grant were conveyed to family members and outside purchasers.
Grantor
Jean-Baptiste D'Olive (or heirs of Dominique D'Olive)
Grantee
Various purchasers
Archive: Baldwin County Probate Court, Deed Books; Mobile County Probate Court, Deed Books; Alabama Department of Archives and History
Research note: The deed books for Baldwin County from this period are held at the Baldwin County Probate Court in Bay Minette. Some records are available on microfilm at the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
The antebellum land record documents the third generation's management of the family's Eastern Shore property and their acquisition of additional land in Mobile County.
Type
DeedDate
c. 1840 – 1860
Acreage
Unknown
Location
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay; Mobile County, Alabama
Deed — Ruben H. L. D'Olive, Eastern Shore Property
Deeds recording Ruben H. L. D'Olive's acquisition and management of Eastern Shore property in the antebellum period. His land transactions document both the retention of the original grant land and the acquisition of additional property in Mobile County.
Grantor
Various
Grantee
Ruben H. L. D'Olive
Archive: Baldwin County Probate Court, Deed Books; Mobile County Probate Court, Deed Books; Alabama Department of Archives and History
Research note: Cross-reference with the estate inventory of Ruben H. L. D'Olive (c. 1878–1882) for a complete picture of his land holdings at the time of his death.
Type
Tax RecordDate
c. 1845 – 1860
Acreage
Various parcels
Location
Baldwin County, Alabama
Tax Assessment — D'Olive Land, Baldwin County
Annual tax assessment records for D'Olive family land in Baldwin County. Tax records document continuous ownership of land even in the absence of recorded deeds, and confirm the family's retention of Eastern Shore land through the antebellum period.
Grantor
Baldwin County Tax Assessor
Grantee
D'Olive family
Archive: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Baldwin County Tax Records; Baldwin County Probate Court
Research note: Alabama tax records for this period are available on microfilm at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Some records have been digitized and are available on Ancestry.com.
The post-Civil War land record documents the family's navigation of the difficult Reconstruction period and the gradual transition from land-based to personal property wealth, including the sale of significant portions of the original Eastern Shore grant.
Type
DeedDate
c. 1865 – 1880
Acreage
Substantial portions of original grant
Location
Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, Baldwin County, Alabama
Deed — Sale of Eastern Shore Land, Post-Civil War
Deeds recording the sale of substantial portions of the D'Olive Eastern Shore land in the post-Civil War period. The economic disruption of the Civil War and Reconstruction led the family to liquidate land holdings, while the family name remained attached to the geographic features of the area.
Grantor
D'Olive family heirs
Grantee
Various purchasers
Archive: Baldwin County Probate Court, Deed Books; Alabama Department of Archives and History
Research note: Cross-reference with the estate of Ruben H. L. D'Olive for the disposition of land through inheritance versus sale.
Type
DeedDate
c. 1880 – 1900
Acreage
Unknown
Location
Mobile County, Alabama
Deed — Mobile County Property, Fourth Generation
Deeds recording Joseph Morgan D'Olive's property transactions in Mobile County in the late nineteenth century. His land record documents the family's shift from the Eastern Shore to Mobile proper and their integration into the commercial and residential life of the city.
Grantor
Various
Grantee
Joseph Morgan D'Olive
Archive: Mobile County Probate Court, Deed Books; Alabama Department of Archives and History
Research note: Cross-reference with the will of Joseph Morgan D'Olive for a complete picture of his land holdings at the time of his death.
The twentieth-century land record documents the fifth generation's property transactions in Mobile County. By this period, the family's connection to the original Eastern Shore grant was primarily historical, but the family name remained permanently inscribed on the geography of the Eastern Shore.
Type
DeedDate
c. 1900 – 1940
Acreage
Unknown
Location
Mobile County, Alabama
Deed — Mobile County Property, Fifth Generation
Deeds recording the property transactions of the fifth generation in Mobile County in the early twentieth century. Edward D. D'Olive and Chester M. D'Olive Sr. were the primary property holders of the fifth generation, with residential and commercial property in Mobile.
Grantor
Various
Grantee
Edward D. D'Olive / Chester M. D'Olive Sr.
Archive: Mobile County Probate Court, Deed Books; Alabama Department of Archives and History
Research note: Cross-reference with the wills of Edward D. D'Olive and Chester M. D'Olive Sr. for a complete picture of their land holdings.
Type
Tax RecordDate
c. 1910 – 1950
Acreage
Various parcels
Location
Mobile County, Alabama
Tax Assessment — D'Olive Property, Mobile County
Annual tax assessment records for D'Olive family property in Mobile County in the early to mid-twentieth century, documenting the family's continued property ownership through the first half of the twentieth century.
Grantor
Mobile County Tax Assessor
Grantee
D'Olive family
Archive: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Mobile County Tax Records; Mobile County Revenue Commissioner's Office
Research note: Mobile County tax records for this period are available at the Alabama Department of Archives and History and the Mobile County Revenue Commissioner's Office.
Researching the Land Record
The D'Olive land record is a work in progress. Many citations are approximate, based on cross-referencing family records with deed indices. Researchers who locate specific deed or survey records are encouraged to share transcriptions or images with the family archive.
BLM General Land Office Records
The Bureau of Land Management's GLO Records database (glorecords.blm.gov) provides free online access to federal land patents and survey plats, including Spanish land grant confirmations in Alabama. Search by name or legal description. Many D'Olive-area surveys are available as digitized images.
Baldwin County Probate Court
The Baldwin County Probate Court in Bay Minette holds the deed books for Baldwin County from the territorial period forward. The Eastern Shore land — including the original D'Olive grant — was in Baldwin County. Staff can assist with deed searches by name and approximate date range.
Mobile County Probate Court
The Mobile County Probate Court holds the deed books for Mobile County. The fifth-generation D'Olive property transactions are primarily in Mobile County. Deed indices are available for research, and staff can assist with locating specific records.
American State Papers — Public Lands
The American State Papers, Public Lands series (available at the Library of Congress and on Ancestry.com) documents the confirmation of Spanish land grants in Alabama. Search for D'Olive in the index to locate the confirmation proceedings for the 1787 grant.