Finding aid to the Timothy Stoen papers MS 3681
Marie Silva
California Historical Society
2019
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
reference@calhist.org
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
Title: Timothy Stoen Papers
Creator:
Stoen, Timothy O.
Identifier/Call Number: MS 3681
Physical Description:
1 legal document box
(0.5 Linear Feet)
Date (inclusive): 1959-2018
Language of Material: Collection
materials are in English.
Includes photocopies of journal entries and documents, dated 1938-2018, referenced in
Timothy Stoen's books,
Marked for Death: My War with Jim Jones and the Devil of
Jonestown
and
Surviving Utopia: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. Also
includes ten original anonymous letters written to Stoen between 1977 and 1978. Some journal
entries have been redacted by Stoen.
Timothy Stoen is an attorney in Mendocino, California. He joined Peoples Temple in 1970,
and provided legal services to the Temple and its members. Stoen defected from Peoples
Temple in 1977, and was instrumental in the efforts of the Concerned Relatives to challenge
the Temple in the courts, and particularly in the custody battle over his son, John Victor
Stoen, who had been taken to Jonestown in 1976. On November 18, 1977, the Superior Court for
the State of California awarded custody of John Victor Stoen to his mother Grace Stoen.
Despite the Stoens' efforts to reclaim John, he was killed in the Jonestown mass suicide and
murder of November 18, 1978.
All researchers must sign the Peoples Temple Collections Access Agreement form. This
document is available at the reference desk or can be sent electronically. Records in the
collection may contain personally identifiable information of a personal or confidential
nature such as medical information or social security numbers. Publication or disclosure of
such information is strictly prohibited.
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by
Timothy Stoen were transferred to the California Historical Society (CHS) in 2019 by donor.
Reproduction or publication of materials in this collection beyond that allowed by fair use
requires the written permission of CHS. Please contact rights@calhist.org.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Timothy Stoen, 2016 and 2019.
[Identification of item, date]; Timothy Stoen Papers, MS 3681; [box number, folder number];
California Historical Society.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Jonestown (Guyana)
Peoples Temple.
Jones, Jim, 1931-1978