Volume 1 (1858-1875) includes the patient's name and a number assigned at entry, date of entry, age, place of birth, "how afflicted," name of person who committed the patient, length of stay, date of discharge (or death), and "remarks." Remarks include notes concerning the patient's release--e.g., name of person authorizing the release, or notations such as "sent this day to Jackson," "time expired this day," "escaped this day," "died"; some remarks also include the cause of death. Also included is an insert headed "Men's Department," listing the inmates of each cell.

Volume 2 (1871-1882) contains the above information plus additional columns designating sex, "civil condition," height, complexion, color of eyes and hair, "special remarks" (i.e., other physical characteristics or a note that the patient died), and "general remarks" (date and cause of death are sometimes noted here, along with the doctor's name; also sometimes included are occupation, name of person requesting the patient's release, religion, and place to which the patient was transferred--Work House, Louisiana Retreat, Charity Hospital).

Inserted in Volume 2 are several sheets headed "Report of New Orleans Insane Asylum for Quarter Ending September 30th (July, August, and September) 1879," which includes the same categories as above, a summary of the number of white and black men and women housed in the asylum, and the number of patients discharged, admitted, and remaining during the period covered. Although the first page of Volume 2 is dated "June 1871," the opening pages of the record repeat names included in Volume 1--that is, names of patients still residing in the asylum at when this volume was started (the earliest date of entry recorded for a patient is March 30, 1861); beginning with May 23, 1871, there are no gaps in patient numbers, indicating that the volume was first used at that time.