Guide to the Moore Family Papers, 1968-1988
Processed by Denice Stephenson.
California Historical Society
North Baker Research Library
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, California 94105-4014
Phone: (415) 357-1848, ext. 220
Fax: (415) 357-1850
Email: reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
© 2003
California Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Note
Social Sciences--Anthropology--Social and Cultural Anthropology
Guide to the Moore Family Papers, 1968-1988
Collection number: MS 3802
California Historical Society
North Baker Research Library
San Francisco, California
Contact Information:
- California Historical Society
- North Baker Research Library
- 678 Mission Street
- San Francisco, California 94105-4014
- Phone: (415) 357-1848, ext. 220
- Fax: (415) 357-1850
- Email: reference@calhist.org
- URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
- Processed by:
- Denice Stephenson
- Date Completed:
- April 30, 2003
- Encoded by:
- UCSC OAC Unit
© 2003 California Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Moore Family Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1968-1988
Collection number: MS 3802
Creator:
Moore Family
Extent:
28 boxes
14.5 linear ft.
Repository:
California Historical Society, North Baker Library
San Francisco, California 94105-4014
Abstract: The collection consists of letters, journals, typescripts, government documents and microfiche, research materials, and ephemera
related to the Moore family's investigations into the deaths in Guyana on November 18, 1978, which included three family members
and California Congressman Leo J. Ryan. The family correspondence includes letters written from Jonestown by Carolyn Moore
Layton and Ann Moore that describe daily life in the agricultural community in Guyana, their relationships with Jim Jones,
and their growing concern about negative reports in the U.S. media. The collection also contains correspondence with other
members of Peoples Temple, including Larry Layton, husband of Carolyn Moore from 1967-1969, and former Temple spokesperson
Michael Prokes. Research materials contain information about the Peoples Temple organization, history, supporters and detractors,
including the Concerned Relatives and Citizens Committee, and newspaper articles on the Peoples Temple and Jonestown. A substantial
portion of the collection consists of documents released by U.S. government agencies in response to numerous Freedom of Information
Act requests and two lawsuits filed by the Moores along with the reports of private investigator John Hanrahan hired by the
Moores to interview government officials. The collection includes the Moores' published materials and interviews by the media.
Physical location: Please consult repository.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to California Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Director of Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
Moore Family Papers. MS 3802, California Historical Society, Manuscript Collection.
Acquisition Information
The Moore Family Papers were donated to the California Historical Society in July 1989.
Biography
The members of the Moore family are Carolyn, Rebecca, and Ann; their parents, John and Barbara; Carolyn's son, Kimo, and Rebecca's
husband, Fielding McGehee III. On November 18, 1978, Carolyn, Kimo, and Ann died in the Peoples Temple's murder-suicide ritual
in Jonestown, Guyana.
Carolyn Moore Layton (1945-1978), the eldest sister, was a high school history teacher. She and her husband, Larry Layton,
joined the Peoples Temple in 1968; they divorced in 1970. Carolyn became a member of the leadership circle and had significant
financial responsibilities for the organization. In 1975, Carolyn gave birth to a son, Kimo Layton Prokes (1975-1978), also
known as Jim-John, who was fathered by Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple. She and Kimo moved to Jonestown, Guyana in
the spring of 1977. Carolyn's death at 33 years old was attributed to cyanide poisoning used in the murder-suicide ritual.
Kimo's remains were not identified.
Ann Elizabeth Moore (1954-1978), the youngest of the three sisters, was a nurse. She joined the Peoples Temple in 1972. After
she moved to Guyana in May 1977, she became Jones' personal nurse. At the time of her death, she was 24 years old. Ann and
Jim Jones were the only two people in the Jonestown settlement who died from gunshot wounds.
Rebecca Moore, Ph.D., a journalist with her doctorate in Religious Studies, teaches at San Diego State University. The Rev.
John V. Moore is a retired United Methodist minister in the California-Nevada Annual Conference; his wife, Barbara, is an
active community volunteer. Fielding McGehee III is a writer and editor.
For more information about the Moore Family during this period, see Rebecca Moore's A Sympathetic History of Jonestown: The
Moore Family Involvement in Peoples Temple (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1985).
Scope and Content of Collection
The Moore Family Papers document the involvement of family members with the Peoples Temple from 1968 to 1988. While letters
written from Jonestown, Guyana by the Moore daughters, Carolyn and Ann, form a significant part of the family correspondence,
the bulk of the collection was generated after the mass murder-suicides in Guyana on November 18, 1978. Assembled by family
members after the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, the collection focuses on their efforts from 1978 to 1988 to investigate
and publicize the circumstances that led to the deaths of their relatives and 916 other adults and children in Guyana. The
collection consists of letters, manuscripts, government documents, research materials, photographs, audiotapes, books, and
ephemera.
Correspondence between members of the Moore family reveals Carolyn and Ann's increasing commitment to their work for the Peoples
Temple. Carolyn's letters in particular describe daily life in Jonestown and the community's growing concern and reactions
to negative reports in the media. Ann's letters provide glimpses of her thoughts about her decision to join the Temple and
her work as a nursing student in San Francisco hospitals and later in Jonestown. A statement she wrote about committing suicide
is considered one of the last messages from Jonestown.
The letters, sermons, and essays that comprise the personal papers of the Rev. John V. and Barbara Moore provide insight into
the family's involvement and dedication to social justice issues. Published statements about their visit to Jonestown in May
1978 document their experience of the settlement and their attempts to gain media coverage of their impressions. The Moores'
correspondence with other members of Peoples Temple and their families reveals their personal commitment to providing consolation
and to continuing their investigations of the tragedy.
The work of Dr. Rebecca Moore and Fielding McGehee III on the Peoples Temple and Jonestown produced a scholarly history, as
well as a large body of legal documents and papers related to numerous Freedom of Information Act requests. Their papers provide
a unique view of the U.S. Government's changing responses over a ten-year span to the provisions of The Privacy Act of 1974.
The Moore Family Papers are divided into three series: Series 1: Family Correspondence and Personal Papers; Series 2: Peoples
Temple Related Materials; Series 3: U.S. Government and Legal Documents. Materials are organized as the family collected and
documented their research that became the basis for their publications and ongoing investigations of the events that led to
the deaths in Guyana.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Peoples Temple
Jones, Jim, 1931-1978
Moore family
Moore, Ann Elizabeth
Layton, Carolyn Moore
Ryan, Leo J.--Assassination
Moore, John V., Rev.
Moore, Barbara
Layton, Larry
Concerned Relatives and Citizens Committee.
United States. Freedom of Information Act.
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation--Trials, litigation, etc.
United States. Central Intelligence Agency--Trials, litigation, etc.
Jonestown Mass Suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978.
Utopias--Guyana--Jonestown.
Other Index Terms Related to this Collection
Moore, Ann Elizabeth
Layton, Carolyn Moore
Moore, Rebecca, 1951-
Moore, Rebecca, 1951--Sympathetic history of Jonestown
Moore, Rebecca, 1951--In defense of Peoples Temple and other essays
Moore, Rebecca, 1951--Jonestown letters: correspondence of the Moore family, 1970-1985
Moore, John V., Rev.
Moore, Barbara
McGehee, Fielding M. 1949-
Layton, Larry
Prokes, Michael
Hanrahan, John
United States. Dept. of Justice
United States. Dept. of State
United States. Social Security Administration
United States. Internal Revenue Service
United States. Bureau of Customs
United States. Federal Communications Commission
Related Collections
The California Historical Society holds several collections related to the Peoples Temple:
- MS 3800, Peoples Temple Records,
Date (inclusive): 1941-1983
- MS 3801, FBI Papers from Jonestown,
Date (inclusive): 1972-1978
- MS 3803, John R. Hall Research Materials,
Date (inclusive): 1978-1987
- MS 4062, Ross E. Case Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1961-1984
Separated Materials
Photographs shelved as MSP 3802.
Series I:
Family Correspondence and Personal Papers,
1970-1988.
Physical Description:
Boxes 1-9, Folders 1-55, Box 17, Audiotapes 1-2
Scope and Content Note
Family correspondence contains letters between members of the Moore family. Of special note to researchers are the letters
from Ann and Carolyn (Folders 1-4) that describe daily life in Jonestown. Additional family correspondence is also located
in folders on specific subjects such as burials, manuscript drafts, and lawsuits. Among the materials relating to the deaths
of Carolyn, Ann and Kimo are their autopsy reports (Folders 16-17), of note because they represent two of only seven autopsies
performed on the 910 bodies found in Jonestown. A few personal items were also recovered from Jonestown: drawings by Ann,
a box filled with notes that belonged to Carolyn, and a cloth "Marcie doll" created and produced for sale in Guyana by Peoples
Temple members.
The personal papers of Rev. John and Barbara Moore include audiotapes of sermons John gave the week after Jonestown and at
their family's memorial services (Box 17, Audiotapes 1-2). Barbara's photographs include family snapshots from before 1977,
and images from their visit to Jonestown in May 1978. The remaining sub-series focus on Rebecca and Fielding 's research and
manuscript drafts. Photographs from their May 1979 trip to Guyana to interview officials and visit Jonestown are included
with John and Barbara's.
Arrangement
Divided into five sub-series: Family Correspondence; Materials Relating to the Deaths of Carolyn, Ann and Kimo; Rev. John
V. and Barbara Moore Personal Papers; Rebecca Moore Personal Papers; and, Fielding McGehee III Notes.
Family correspondence, 1970-1987
Physical Description:
Box 1:1-11
Scope and Content Note
Family correspondence contains letters between members of the Moore family. Of special note to researchers are the letters
from Ann and Carolyn (Folders 1-4) that describe daily life in Jonestown.
Box-folder 1:1
Letters from Ann to John and Barbara, 1976-1978
Box-folder 1:2
Letters from Ann to Rebecca, 1972-1978
Box-folder 1:3
Letters from Carolyn to John and Barbara, 1976-1978
Box-folder 1:4
Letters from Carolyn to Rebecca, 1970-1977
Box-folder 1:5
Letters from Rebecca to John and Barbara, 1979-1983
Box-folder 1:6-8
Letters from Barbara to Rebecca, 1972-1982
Box-folder 1:9-10
Letters from John to Rebecca, 1973-1987
Box-folder 1:11
Letters from Fielding to John and Barbara, 1981
Materials Relating to Deaths of Carolyn, Ann and Kimo, 1978-1983
Physical Description:
Box 2:12-20; Box 3
Scope and Content Note
Family correspondence is also located in folders on specific subjects such as burials, manuscript drafts, and lawsuits. Among
the materials relating to the deaths of Carolyn, Ann and Kimo are their autopsy reports (Folders 16-17), of note because they
represent two of only seven autopsies performed on the 910 bodies found in Jonestown. A few personal items were also recovered
from Jonestown: drawings by Ann, a box filled with notes that belonged to Carolyn, and a cloth "Marcie doll" created and produced
for sale in Guyana by Peoples Temple members.
Box-folder 2:12
Correspondence and notes on autopsies and burials plans, 1978-1980
Box-folder 2:13
Newsclippings on autopsies, burials and costs, 1978-1979
Box-folder 2:14
Moore family memorial services December 11-12, 1978
Box-folder 2:15
Newsclippings on Moore family, 1978-1983
Box-folder 2:16
Ann's identification papers and autopsy report, 1979
Box-folder 2:17
Carolyn's identification papers and autopsy report, 1979
Box-folder 2:18
Carolyn's passport and personal papers, 1972-1976
Box-folder 2:19-20
Documents relating to Carolyn's estate, 1979-1982
Box 3
Drawings, cloth doll made in Jonestown, small paper box
Rev. John V. and Barbara Moore Personal Papers, 1970-1988
Physical Description:
Box 4:21-22; Box 17:1-2; Box 4:23-28
Scope and Content Note
The personal papers of Rev. John and Barbara Moore include audiotapes of sermons John gave the week after Jonestown and at
their family's memorial services (Box 17, Audiotapes 1-2). Barbara's photographs include family snapshots from before 1977,
and images from their visit to Jonestown in May 1978.
Box-folder 4:21
Barbara's reflections and public statements, 1970-1988
Box-folder 4:22
John's sermons, 1970-1988
Box-folder 17:1-2
Audiotapes of John's sermons, 1978
Box-folder 4:23
Published articles, 1978-1981
Box-folder 4:24-25
Correspondence with church and public officials, 1975-1982
Box-folder 4:26
Notes on conversations with journalists, 1975-1979
Box-folder 4:27-28
Sermons and condolences received, 1978-1982
Rebecca Moore Personal Papers, 1978-1988
Physical Description:
Box 5:29-36; Box 6; Box 7:37-40; Box 8:41-46; Box 9:47-52
Scope and Content Note
This sub-series focuses on Rebecca's research and manuscript drafts. Photographs from the May 1979 trip to Guyana to interview
officials and visit Jonestown are included with John and Barbara's.
Box-folder 5:32
Draft of essay "In Defense of Peoples Temple" and CIA essays, 1983
Box-folder 5:33
Film treatment "Last Rights," 1986
Box-folder 5:34
Correspondence and notes on interviews with Guyanese officials and papers related to May 1979 travel to Guyana, 1978-1979
Box-folder 5:35
Research on Jonestown chronology, 1978-1984
Box-folder 5:36
Research on Jonestown survivors, 1978-1979
Box 6
Index card notes on chronology, survivors and media, 1978-1984
Box-folder 7:37
Research on Jim Jones, 1978-1980
Box-folder 7:38
Research on mid 1970's conspiracies and Dennis Banks, 1978-1984
Box-folder 7:39
Research on conspiracies and Jonestown, 1980
Box-folder 7:40
Research on Don Freed and Joseph Mazor, 1978-1984
Box-folder 8:41-43
Draft of
The Jonestown Letters: Correspondence of the Moore Family
Box-folder 8:44-46
Draft of
A Sympathetic History of Jonestown
Box-folder 9:47-49
Correspondence with publishers and literary agents, 1980-1988
Box-folder 9:50
Correspondence with lawyers on copyright issues, 1979-1985
Box-folder 9:51
Publishing contacts, notes and essay, 1982-1988
Box-folder 9:52
Condolence letters received, 1978-1982
Fielding McGehee III Notes, 1979-1988
Physical Description:
Box 9:53-55
Scope and Content Note
This remaining sub-series focuses on Fielding 's research notes and correspondence. Photographs from the May 1979 trip to
Guyana to interview officials and visit Jonestown are included with John and Barbara's.
Box-folder 9:53
Notes on FBI tapes, transcripts and radio interviews, 1979
Box-folder 9:54
Notes on files in law office of Charles R. Garry, 1979
Box-folder 9:55
Correspondence about anniversaries of Johnstown, 1984-1988
Series II:
Peoples Temple Related Materials,
1968-1988
Physical Description:
Boxes 10-16, Folders 56-112; Box 17-18, Audiotapes 3-17
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence between the Moores and Peoples Temple members and relatives (Folders 56-72). Information about the
organization, its history, supporters and detractors, such as the Concerned Relatives, is included in this series as well
as court documents about the dissolution of the Peoples Temple and disbursement of its assets. Newspaper articles (sorted
into subjects by the Moores), audiotapes of the murder-suicide ritual "White Night," radio interview shows on Jonestown, and
conversations between members of Peoples Temple are also found here. This series also contains records of the family's attempts
to contact relatives of those who died in Guyana to urge Congress to continue investigations into the circumstances that led
to their deaths.
Box-folder 10:56-57
Moore and Layton families' correspondence, 1969-1987
Box-folder 10:58
Larry Layton's appeal for leniency, 1986-1987
Box-folder 10:59-60
Newsclippings on Layton family, 1978-1987
Box-folder 10:61
Papers related to Mike Prokes' suicide, 1978-1979
Box-folder 10:62
Peoples Temple members' letters to Moore family, 1977-1979
Box-folder 10:63
Press conference and correspondence with Charles Garry, 1978-1980
Box-folder 10:64
Concerned Relatives' accusation and petition, April 11, 1978
Box-folder 11:65
Lawsuits filed against Peoples Temple, 1976-October 1978
Box-folder 11:66
Peoples Temple responses to accusations and lawsuits, 1976-1978
Box-folder 11:67
Lawsuits and legal documents filed by Peoples Temple, 1978
Box-folder 11:68
Public officials' statements in support of Peoples Temple, 1976-1978
Box-folder 11:69
Internal memos and papers on Apostolic Corporation, 1973-1978
Box-folder 11:70
"Gang of Eight" letter to Jim Jones from former members, 1973
Box-folder 11:71
Issues of
Peoples Forum, 1976-1977
Box-folder 11:72
Peoples Temple flyers and pamphlets on Jonestown, 1976-1977
Box-folder 12:73-79
Peoples Temple's assets, 1978-1983
Box-folder 13:80-82
Committee for Justice correspondence and papers, 1983-1984
Box-folder 13:83-84
List of Peoples Temple members who went to Guyana, 1978
Box-folder 13:85-87
Screenplay by Ezra Schacht on conspiracies, 1983
Box-folder 14:89
Peoples Temple before Jonestown, 1972-1978
Box-folder 15:95
Jonestown, 1980-September, 1988
Box-folder 15:96-97
10th anniversary of Jonestown, November 1988
Box-folder 15:98
Congressman Leo J. Ryan, 1978-1987
Box-folder 15:99
Charles R. Garry, 1977-1979
Box-folder 15:102
Mills family and hit squad, 1978-1980
Box-folder 15:104
Critiques of Jonestown media coverage, 1978-1986
Box-folder 15:105-106
Jonestown from Guyana publications, 1977-1988
Box-folder 16:108
Periodicals on cults and new religions, 1979-1984
Box-folder 16:109
Essays on Jonestown and utopias, 1973-1981
Box-folder 16:110-112
Newsclippings, maps, travel guides to Guyana, 1979-1988
Box-folder 17:3-9
Audiotapes of "White Night," 1978
Box-folder 18:10-17
Audiotapes of radio interviews and speeches, 1978-1981
Series III:
U.S. Government and Legal Documents,
1974-1985
Physical Description:
Boxes 19-28, Folders 113-198
Scope and Content Note
Organized in order of FOIA requests, then by responding government agency, materials in this series document the family's
investigations into the role of the U.S. Government before and after the events in Guyana. Requests for information filed
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to each agency are followed by replies, denials and/or subsequent releases. Sixty-one
sheets of microfiche released by U.S. Department of State are located in Folder 158. Of the two lawsuits filed by the family,
McGehee v. CIA had a substantial impact on the release of information and on general FOIA activities. The files of private
investigator John Hanrahan, who was hired by the Moore family to interview U.S. government officials and file additional FOIA
requests, are found in Folders 128-130, 160-167.
Box-folder 19:113
FOIA guidelines and program reports, 1974-1984
Box-folder 19:114
Newsclippings on FOIA, 1978-1984
Box-folder 19:115
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms FOIA requests, 1980
Box-folder 19:116
U.S. Customs Service FOIA requests and releases, 1980
Box-folder 19:117-120
U.S. Department of Defense FOIA requests and releases, 1980-1984
Box-folder 19:121
U.S. Postal and Internal Revenue Services FOIA requests, 1980
Box-folder 20:122
U.S. General Accounting Office release of report to Congress on foster care children in Jonestown, 1979-1980
Box-folder 20:123
California Attorney General reports on Peoples Temple, 1981
Box-folder 20:124
Health, Education and Welfare FOIA releases, 1980-1981
Box-folder 20:125-127
Social Security Administration FOIA releases, 1980-1981
Box-folder 20:128-129
Interviews related to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and FOIA releases, 1980-1981
Box-folder 21:130
FCC FOIA requests and releases, 1981
Box-folder 21:131
U.S. Department of Justice annual report on FOIA activities, 1982
Box-folder 21:132
FOIA releases on drugs from U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement and other agencies, 1980-1981
Box-folder 21:133-134
U.S. Department of Justice FOIA requests and releases, 1980-1984
Box-folder 21:135
Deposition of Louis B. Sims for
Leon Steinberg v. Interpol, 1979
Box-folder 21:136-147
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) FOIA
Box-folder 21:136
Correspondence and newsclippings, 1979-1985
Box-folder 22:137
Requests about John and Barbara Moore, 1979-1980
Box-folder 22:138
Releases on Congressman Ryan and Guyana Index, 1980
Box-folder 22:139
Releases on Peoples Temple prior to Nov. 18, 1978; 1982
Box-folder 22:140
Releases on Peoples Temple, Jim Jones and Mike Prokes, 1982-1983
Box-folder 22:141-142
Release of Peoples Temple member's journal, 1984
Box-folder 22:143
Releases on Peoples Temple communications between U.S. and Guyana, 1980
Box-folder 22:144
Releases on Peoples Temple contact with communist countries, 1980
Box-folder 22:145-146
Releases on Peoples Temple and Soviet Union, 1980
Box-folder 23:147
Releases on drugs and medical personnel in Jonestown, 1980
Box-folder 23:148-149
Correspondence, 1979-1985
Box-folder 23:150-154
Legal documents, 1983-1984
Box-folder 24:155
Releases on Carolyn Moore Layton, 1984
Box-folder 24:156
U.S. Department of State evaluation report of U.S. Embassy in Guyana and newsclippings, 1979
Box-folder 24:157
Correspondence with U.S. Department of State and public officials about FOIA requests, 1980-1985
Box-folder 24:158
U.S. Department of State FOIA release of microfiche records on Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, 1982
Box-folder 24:159
Rebecca's notes on microfiche records, 1983
Box-folder 24:160
Interviews related to U.S. Department of State, 1980-1981
Box-folder 24:161-164
U.S. Department of State FOIA requests and releases
Box-folder 25:165-167
Hanrahan and Moore family
Box-folder 25:165-166
Correspondence on Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 1978-1982
Box-folder 25:167
Contract and invoices, 1979-1981
Box-folder 25:168-169
CIA reports to Congress on FOIA activities, 1977-1985
Box-folder 25:170
Legislative proposal on CIA reform, 1980
Box-folder 25:171-172
Newsclippings on CIA, 1974-1985
Box-folder 26:173
CIA FOIA requests and releases, 1980-1981
Box-folder 26:174-177
Correspondence, 1978-1987
Box-folder 28:189
Department of State, 1984
Box-folder 28:194-196
CIA FOIA requests and releases, 1982-1987
Box-folder 28:198
CIA and Jonestown, 1980-1983