Section 7 of the 1805 city charter required that the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and other subordinate officers take an oath to perform the duties of their positions to the best of their knowledge before assuming those offices. The Mayor was to take his oath before the Governor and the others before the Mayor. This requirement was modified in the 1852 charter which prescribed the oath of office required by the Louisiana constitution as the oath for city officials. The Mayor's oath was to be taken before a Justice of the Peace while the others continued to take theirs before the Mayor.

Volume 1 consists of manuscript oaths signed by the individual officials (whose positions are identified in the oath) and by the Mayor. This book also contains at the rear a record of those men appointed to serve as constables at the various theatres and other public amusement places in the city. The remaining volumes are made up of printed forms with names, dates, and positions filled in by hand and signed by the officer and by the Mayor. These records should be useful in determining office holders during the period and may also be useful in validating signatures on other documents.