Series VII. Financial Records, 1803-1883, undated (bulk 1820s)

Bulk in French. The greater part of this series consists of accounts, bills, receipts, and promissory notes of the City Corporation of New Orleans, for materials and services pertaining to the construction and maintenance of the city. Usually a single document served as a bill, a certification by the city surveyor of work completed or materials received, a promissory note, and a receipt of paymentâ??thus, these items have been sorted together. Documents that served solely as promissory notes or orders of payment (often printed) are sorted separately.

Also included in this series are tax receipts and reports for property, coffee-houses, grog shops, billiards, etc.; tax records for legal cases; charity records; financial material (mostly receipts) of merchant and philanthropist John McDonogh; records of the Sarphy family involving a mortgage debt; and miscellaneous checks, bonds, estimates, and calculations.