 Many early Jewish families were descendants of Sephardic Jews who had been among the earliest colonial settlers in Charleston and Savannah.By 1860 Mobile's population within the city limits had reached 29,258 people; it was the 27th-largest city in the United States and 4th-largest in what would soon be the Confederate States of America.The free population in the whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which 1,195 were free people of color.