The first Mobley was born in the Northern section of Ireland in Dublin. At that time the name was O'Mabley. Thomas O'Mabley came back to England with his family and came to the United States to Salem, North Carolina in abt 1790.. There in Salem, Thomas married Elizabeth Allen. They were married and crossed the Cumberland Gap and came to Clay County Kentucky about 1805.Thomas had 2 brother's who also came to Kentucky at the same time, but not together. One settled North of Clay County, in Morgan County & Elliott County. The other brother went west to Bowling Green, which is now Warren County. In 1805, 2 of Elizabeth Allen's sisters came from Manchester, England. Around that time, a man named Green Clay was making a survey of what is now Clay County. Green laid out Manchester. He took part of Floyd and Madison Counties to make Clay. Green the surveyor, was respected by many people and in his respect, named the town Greenville. The County was first named Green County.The two Allen sister's changed that in 1806 in respect to Green Clay. They named the county Clay and the town Manchester. The name of Greenville, had lasted one year.Thomas Mobley died in 1804. He had a son named John, who settled in what is now Crane Creek in 1807. A distant cousin, Adarian Allen had already settled there.The Mopley's had taken the Allen name.. John (Mopley Allen married Esther Baker, sister of Boston Baker. John built the first water-mill in Clay County on Crane Creek. Adarian Allen had built a water-mill at Narer's. John had a son, David Allen. He had the first steam mill in Clay County. David had several Allen childern, his son John decided to take the Mopley name back. John Mobley or Thomas Mobley married Betty or Elizabeth Spurlock. Elizabeth was half Herd. To that union, Steve Mobley was born.. Steve Mobley was married to Laura Allen. George Mobley married a Dixon, and later a Barton from Corbin. George had 3 sons; Tolly, John D and George. Lieutentant Thomas Mobley was a veteran of the Civil War. He was on the Union Side. His brother-in-laws, the Spurlocks, were soldiers in the South confederates. Lt Thomas Mobley faced his brother-in-laws at the "Battle of Perryville, Kentucky". Major Spurlock of the Confederate, was classified as a "Guerilla of the South".
The Indian Cheif for whom Red Bird Creek in Clay County was named was probably a Cherokee from Tennesee or North Carolina. Like others of his race, he was a great hunter and allured game in this remote region. He finally took up residence on the creek that bears his name at the mouth of Jack's Creek in this county. He came to his death by the avariance of the "pale face". There lived a crippled Indian named Willie. This man dressed the skins which Red Bird brought to their wigwam and looked after the culinary department of their house. Some hunters from North Carolina, greedy and unscrupulous, came to wigwam and murdered Willie. They then secreted themselves and awaited the return of the brave Chief who had long buried his tomahawk and for years had been living in peace with the white man, and as he approached his cruder castle the bullet of an assassin laid him in the dust. They threw his body into a hole of water nearby which is still called "Willie's Hole", and from which John Gilbert and others took him and buried him. One tradition is that he was sitting on the bank of the Creek fishing when he was shot and that he fell into the Creek.
