Appointments and Oaths of Office

Series — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 1802-A3

Scope and Contents note

Samples of appointments and oaths of office for officials, employees, and board/commission members whose positions required this formal process. About half the oaths are for "special policemen," who were often people who worked in amusement places or taverns, or who handled money or valuables as part of their jobs. Large numbers of special policeman and emergency patrolman appointments were made during periods of labor unrest such as the 1919 general strike.

Dates

Creation: 1911-1936

Creator

Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access note

Records are open to the public.

Historical Note

The City Clerk maintains the City's legislative records, official filings, and the Seattle Municipal Archives; keeps the minutes of City Council meetings; and provides information services to City agencies and the public. Seattle's first City Charter allowed for a Clerk of the Common Council to be elected by the Council. In 1875 the position of City Clerk became elective and remained so until 1896 when the new Charter designated the Comptroller ex-officio City Clerk. The Comptroller served as City Clerk through 1992. A 1991 City Charter amendment transferred the Comptroller's function to the Department of Finance and the City Clerk's Office became a division of the Legislative Department effective in 1993.

Full Extent

0.6 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

General Note

A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed "on file" with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.