Accounts of Juan de Castanedo, 1794-1803
Scope and Contents
The records are manuscript accounts, originally kept as loose documents but later bound into a single volume (which has subsequently been disbound for microfilming purposes). Many aspects of the early municipal government are documented in these records, from the inauguration of a street lighting program to operations of the city's markets. Included are lists of bar room owners, billiard table owners, butcher shop owners, operators of meat and fish stands, and owners of shacks and market stalls on the levee. Also included are lists of ships in the river (with ports of origin and names of captains noted), ships in Bayou St. John (with destinations and names of owners/captains noted), and ships bringing sugar and rum into the port (with ports of origin and names of captains noted).
A typescript transcription and English translation of these documents was prepared by the WPA while they were on loan to the Louisiana State Museum. That typescript, which is indexed both by general subjects and by personal names, is available at the Museum's Historical Center.
Dates
- Creation: 1794-1803
Creator
- From the Collection: Board of City Trusts (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Available on microfilm to registered researchers by appoitnemnt. Request by call number. Originals are closed for research.
Biographical / Historical
Juan de Castanedo was elected City Treasurer by the Commissioners of the Cabildo in 1793 and served through the end of the period of Spanish domination. Following the transfer of Louisiana from France to the United States in 1803, there appears to have developed some controversy between the former Commissioners and the newly appointed (by the Colonial Prefect, Laussat) Conseil Municipal over Castanedo's bookkeeping practices. These records may have been part of that controversy, which may explain why they have survived in the archives while similar records have not).
Extent
From the Series: 1 Volumes (1 volumes available on 1 roll of microfilm)
Language of Materials
Spanish; Castilian
Call Number
mf CC460, 1794-1803
Repository Details
Part of the City Archives Repository
City Archives & Special Collections
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans LA 70112
504-596-2610
archivist@nolalibrary.org