Central Business District in Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
The Pelican Girls
Photographed by Jim Ellis, May 23, 2026
1. The Pelican Girls Marker front side facing north on the southeast corner of the intersection.
The Pelican Girls, so named for the ship Pélican upon which they traveled, were young women of good character sent by King Louis XIV to Mobile (capital of French Louisiana) in 1704 in response to colonial officials' pleas for marriageable French Catholic women. Recruited from orphanages and monasteries around Paris, the 23 girls (most between 14-and 18-years-old) were gifted with small boxes (cassettes) in which to store their belongings. They were allowed to choose whom to marry.
They arrived at Mobile on August 1, 1704, after brief stops in Cap-Français, Saint Domingue (present day Cap-Haïtien, Haiti), and Havana, Cuba. While there, many of the ship's passengers contracted yellow fever, a deadly virus which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Once ashore in Mobile, the illness quickly spread, resulting in the first epidemic of the disease on the northern Gulf Coast.
Within months, all but one of the surviving Pelican Girls married local colonists. Enduring many hardships in a challenging environment, these unions established long-lasting family lines from which thousands of people throughout the United States claim their ancestry.
Reverse Side
Marie-Françoise Boisrenaud • Marie-Marguerite Dufresne • Gabrielle Bonnet • Marie-Noël Dumesnil • Marie Briard • Louise-François LeFevre • Marie-Thérèse
this page online
Erected 2025 by The Mobile Historic Development Commission and the City of Mobile, Alabama.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Immigration • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is August 1, 1704.
Location. 30° 41.348′ N, 88° 2.379′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. It is in the Central Business District. It is at the intersection of South Royal Street and Church Street, on the left when traveling south on South Royal Street. On the southeast corner at the intersection of Church Street and S. Royal Street. Across the street from Colonial Fort Conde to the west and the History Museum of Mobile to the north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 150 S Royal Street, Mobile AL 36602, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Gulf Coast and in Mobile Bay. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: How Big was the Original Fort Condé? (within shouting distance
Photographed by Georgeann Ellis, May 23, 2026
2. The back side of the marker listing all the Pelican Girls
Photographed by Jim Ellis, May 23, 2026
3. View of the front of marker when approaching it at the intersection of S Royal and Church Street.
Photographed by Georgeann Ellis, May 23, 2026
4. View of the back side of the marker with the History Museum of Mobile Bldg in background,
Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 23, 2026, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. This page has been viewed 16 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 23, 2026, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
