Scope and Contents
Arrangement Note
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Source of Acquisition
Accruals and Additions
Related Materials
Related Publications
Preferred Citation
Biographical Note
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & University Archives
Title: Rebecca Moore Papers
Creator:
Moore, Rebecca
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0521
Physical Description:
4.37 Linear Feet
Date: 1951-2013
Date (bulk): 1951-1989
Language of Material:
English
.
Scope and Contents
The
Rebecca Moore Papers (1951-2013) consist of correspondence, drawings, school records, news clippings, research materials, research papers, publications,
and audiovisual materials. The collection is divided into six series, which are organized alphabetically unless otherwise
noted:
Correspondence;
Professional Materials;
Miscellaneous Family Documents, Cards, and Clippings;
John Moore Papers;
Collected Publications; and
Audiovisual Materials.
The Correspondence series (1952-2002) is divided into three sub-series:
Letters from Rebecca Moore to John and Barbara Moore,
Family Correspondence, and
Professional Correspondence. The
Letters from Rebecca Moore to John and Barbara Moore sub-series (1962-1989) contains correspondence from Rebecca (Becky) Moore to her parents, and is organized chronologically.
Noteworthy letters include those written in 1979 in the wake of the tragedy at Jonestown.
Family Correspondence (1952-2002) is comprised of letters from various members of Rebecca Moore's family including her sisters Carolyn and Annie.
The
Professional Correspondence sub-series (1995-2011) is made up of letters to or from Rebecca Moore, written in a professional setting. Letters of recommendation
written for students are also included.
The
Professional Materials series (1980-2013) consists of lectures, research materials and research papers. Highlights include Dr. Moore's collected
research on varying religious organizations and her research papers written throughout her academic career.
The
Miscellaneous Family Documents, Cards, and Clippings series (1951-2011) contains drawings, school records, writings, and manuscript chapters. One noteworthy item is a birthday
card for John Moore illustrated by Annie Moore and signed by her, Jim Jones, and Carolyn Moore Layton.
The
John Moore Papers series (1974-1995) is made up of materials that belonged to John Moore, Rebecca Moore's father. Most of the files contain
documents relating to Peoples Temple and Jonestown and some collected family materials are also included.
The
Collected Publications series (1966-2009) consists of books, pamphlets, newsletters and journals. Materials pertain to religious studies and the
study of new or alternative religious movements, as well as Washington, D.C. television and theatre journals for which Moore
(then "Moore Clary") worked as an editor.
The
Audiovisual Materials series (2002-2011) contains DVDs, cassette tapes, a CD-ROM, and a floppy disk. Notable items include video recordings of
the
Toward a Reasonable World conference in 2011.
Arrangement Note
I. Correspondence
1. Letters from Rebecca Moore to John and Barbara Moore
2. Family Correspondence
3. Professional Correspondence
II. Professional Materials
III. Miscellaneous Family Documents, Cards, and Clippings
IV. John Moore Papers
V. Collected Publications
VI. Audiovisual Materials
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature
of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.
Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish
must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted,
permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are
made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the
materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Source of Acquisition
Rebecca Moore via the Jonestown Institute
Accruals and Additions
2010-027, 2014-033, 2015-021
Related Materials
Peoples Temple Collection, 1972-1990
Barbara C. Moore Correspondence Collection
Related Publications
Rebecca Moore has published several books about Jonestown. For a list of these works, click http://libpac.sdsu.edu/search?/amoore%2C+rebecca/amoore+rebecca/1%2C3%2C16%2CB/exact&FF=amoore+rebecca+1951&1%2C11%2C'
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Rebecca Moore Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego
State University Library.
Biographical Note
Rebecca Moore was born in February 1951 to Reverend John Moore and Barbara Moore. She had an older sister, Carolyn, and a
younger one named Annie. Much of Rebecca's early life was spent in California, in Hayward, Chico, Davis, and Berkeley. She
moved to Washington D.C. in 1971 after marrying Patrick Clary but the couple divorced a few years later. Moore graduated from
Antioch College in 1974 and continued to work in Washington. She married Fielding (Mac) McGehee III and moved to South Dakota
shortly afterward. Moore and McGehee adopted three children: December, Hillary and Tim. Rebecca and Fielding settled in San
Diego in 1999. At San Diego State University, Dr. Rebecca Moore taught in the Department of Religious Studies, which she chaired
from 2006 to 2011. Her expertise includes the study of early Christianity as well as new religious movements in America. Dr.
Moore retired in May 2015.
Dr. Moore lost both of her sisters and a nephew in the tragedy at Jonestown and consequently devotes much of her time to ensuring
that multiple perspectives of Peoples Temple and Jonestown are available to the public. Moore, along with husband Fielding
McGehee, manage
Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples Temple, a website hosted by the Jonestown Institute in the Department of Religious Studies that is devoted to providing varying
and alternative perspectives on Peoples Temple and the events in Jonestown.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Peoples Temple--History--Sources
Jonestown Mass Suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978--Sources
Jones, Jim, 1931-1978