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Moore (Barbara C.) Correspondence
MS-0539
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & University Archives
Title: Barbara C. Moore Correspondence
Creator:
Moore, Barbara C.
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0539
Physical Description:
2.52 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1968-1999
Language of Material:
English
.
The
Barbara C. Moore Correspondence (1968-1999) collection contains correspondence from Barbara Moore to her daughter Rebecca Moore beginning when Rebecca ("Becky")
left home to attend college and continuing throughout the following three decades. The collection also contains letters from
Barbara to Pat Clary (Rebecca's first husband) while he was in the Vietnam War, as well as a few letters from John Moore (Rebecca's
father) to Rebecca, and numerous letters and greeting cards from Barbara to her brother Robert. Other items in the collection
include photographs of Barbara and family members, newspaper clippings, copies of John's sermons sent to Rebecca, and greeting
cards sent for a variety of occasions. The collection consists of three series:
Correspondence (1964-2002),
Greeting Cards, and
Photographs.
Series one,
Correspondence (1964-2002), contains the main correspondence from Barbara, organized chronologically by date. Each folder within this series
is dedicated to a year and is organized by month and day within. Some letters have an approximate year, which is indicated
on the letter itself using brackets and a question mark (for example: [1980?]). There are two subseries:
Letters, Year Unknown, which consists of letters that had no identifying year, and
Letters from Barbara Moore to her brother, Robert A. Covington, and his wife, Mary
Covington. The folders for the former are organized alphabetically by letter recipient. These letters are mainly to Rebecca and Fielding
McGehee III ("Mac", Becky's second husband) but there are some addressed to Becky and Pat, as well as to Pat alone while he
was in the Vietnam war. The second of the two sub-series is mainly comprised of letters and greeting cards from Barbara to
her brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Mary Covington.
The
Greeting Cards series contains greeting cards that did not accompany a letter. The majority of the cards are simply signed by Barbara and
John, with a few containing longer messages within. Letters that accompanied greeting cards can be found in series one.
The
Photographs series contains photographs of family members and Barbara. Each picture has been labeled on the back with the known information.
Other photographs that accompanied letters can be found in series one.
I. Barbara C. Moore Correspondence, (1968-1999)
1. Letters, Year Unknown
2. Letters from Barbara Moore to her brother, Robert A. Moore, and his wife, Mary Covington
II. Greeting Cards
III. Photographs
The copyright interests in these materials have been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the
creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections
is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. 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 obtain in order to publish. Materials from our collection 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.
Rebecca Moore Papers, 1951-2013
Identification of item, folder title, box number,
Barbara C. Moore Correspondence, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library.
Barbara Covington (later Moore) was born on June 7, 1922, in Glendale, CA. Barbara attended Pasadena Junior College in the
1940s. In 1942, Barbara met John Moore through mutual friends and the two married six months later. Barbara and John had three
daughters: Carolyn, born July 1945; Rebecca born February 1951; and Ann, born May 1954, along with several failed pregnancies.
The family moved around the west coast in order to follow John's career as a Methodist Pastor. In the 1970s, Carolyn and Annie
both joined Peoples Temple and became prominent members. Carolyn, Annie, and Barbara's 3-year-old grandson Jim-John all died
in the tragedy of Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. Her surviving daughter, Rebecca, was a professor of religious studies at San
Diego State University from 1999 until her retirement in 2015. Rebecca has dedicated much of her career to the study of Peoples
Temple. Barbara was an active member of the Methodist Church and the community throughout her life. She devoted herself to
helping the less fortunate by taking in runaway youths and becoming a prominent member of the homeless organization "Loaves
and Fishes," among many other community activities. Barbara died on June 21, 2004.
2016-025
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Jonestown Mass Suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978--Sources
Peoples Temple--History--Sources
Jones, Jim, 1931-1978