Katherine, The funeral homes existing during the 1864 time frame should be listed in the Mobile City Directories. The Department of Local History and Genealogy (Mobile Public Library) has copies of all old directories (334-434-7093) Regarding the disposition of old mortuary records, they probably do not exist for that period. But, if they do, the most logical repositories would be either the Mobile Municipal Archives (334-434-7740) or the University of South Alabama Archives (334-434-3800). Oftentimes, the records were maintained by the families owning the mortuary and were not given to any repository to archive. If this is the case, being handed down through the family for generations, it's very likely they are non-existent today. The Mobile Genealogical Society published in 1994 MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA DEATH RECORDS 1843-1875 INDEX (Extracted from the Original Index Books A-K and L-Z preserved in the Mobile Health Department, Mobile, AL). Using the information from this publication you can write to the Mobile County Health Department, P O Box 2867, Mobile, AL 36652-2867 (334-690-8158) and if a certificate number was indicated in the DEATH RECORDS INDEX, for $12 you will receive a verification letter from the Health Department with all the information provided on the death certificate. If a certificate number is not indicated in the DEATH RECORDS INDEX, the death probably occurred in the county and no other information is available other than just the deceased person's name being entered in a ledger book in the Health Department. If you have a name and a date, I'll do a BRIEF "look-up" for you in the DEATH RECORDS INDEX to see if the name is listed and if it has a certificate number. Eugenia (Mobile)