Donneter Lane papers relating to the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee, 1964-2004, bulk 1978-1980

Summary

Abstract:

The collection consists of papers collected by Donneter Lane concerning Peoples Temple and the 1978 Jonestown tragedy, the bulk of which were generated by the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee (GERC) between the years 1978 and 1980 and document the Committee's efforts to transport the unidentified or unclaimed remains of Jonestown victims from Dover Air Base to California for burial. Committee records include press releases, minutes, and memoranda; correspondence between the Committee and various agencies, including the United States Department of State; rosters of Jonestown victims and surviving family members; and records of the San Francisco Superior Court proceedings, Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ v. The Attorney General of the State of California. Also included are letters from family members of victims to the Committee indicating family wishes regarding the interment of loved ones or requesting reimbursement for burial expenses; and family survivor contact cards, which document communication between the Committee and family members and provide information about the status of burials.

Extent:

3.4 Linear Feet (4 boxes: 3 manuscript boxes and 1 oversize flat box)

Language:

Collection materials are in English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date] Donneter Lane papers relating to the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee (MS 3792). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of papers collected by Donneter Lane concerning Peoples Temple and the 1978 Jonestown tragedy, the bulk of which were generated by the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee (GERC) between the years 1978 and 1980 and document the Committee's efforts to transport the unidentified or unclaimed remains of Jonestown victims from Dover Air Base to California for burial. Committee records include press releases, minutes, and memoranda; correspondence between the Committee and various agencies, including the United States Department of State; rosters of Jonestown victims and surviving family members; and records of the San Francisco Superior Court proceedings, Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ v. The Attorney General of the State of California. Also included are letters from family members of victims to the Committee indicating family wishes regarding the interment of loved ones or requesting reimbursement for burial expenses; and family survivor contact cards, which document communication between the Committee and family members and provide information about the status of burials. (Information on contact cards may include whether or not victims' bodies were identified or claimed, and where they were buried.)

The collection also contains a small amount of records created by the San Francisco Council of Churches between the years 1977 and 1979, most of which concern the Council's role in organizing the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee, and papers collected by Donneter Lane concerning Peoples Temple, the Jonestown deaths, and other religious and social issues. Among Lane's papers are correspondence, articles, and other papers documenting various religious responses to Jonestown; and newspaper and magazine articles reporting the tragedy and its aftermath, including extensive local newspaper coverage of the days leading up to and following November 18, 1978.

Biographical / historical:

Donneter Lane was the Executive Director of the San Francisco Council of Churches. With Rabbi Malcolm Sparer and Father John O'Connor, she was one of the principal organizers of the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee, formed on November 28, 1978, to coordinate an interfaith response to the deaths at Jonestown. In 1979, Lane and other Committee members communicated with family members of Jonestown victims concerning the interment of loved ones and reimbursement for burial expenses, maintaining careful records of approximately 200 telephone calls and letters. She continued to maintain the records of the Committee after its dissolution.

The Guyana Emergency Relief Committee (GERC) was formed on November 28, 1978, by members of the San Francisco religious community in response to the deaths of over 900 people at Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978. Composed of representatives of the San Francisco Council of Churches, the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and the Board of Rabbis of Northern California, the Committee had a two-fold purpose: to assist with the expeditious return of over 500 bodies from Dover Air Base, Delaware, to California for proper burial; and to provide counseling, pastoral services, and material assistance to grieving families.

In order to obtain funds for the interment of unidentified or unclaimed bodies from Peoples Temple assets, the Committee participated in proceedings held in the Superior Court of California for the winding up and dissolution of Peoples Temple ( Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ v. The Attorney General of the State of California) as an Amicus Curiae ("friend of the court"). The Superior Court ordered that a portion of Peoples Temple assets be set aside to pay for burial expenses, and approved the Committee's plan for the removal, transportation, and burial of the bodies.

Cooperating closely with the State Department, the Committee communicated with family members (representing over 547 Jonestown victims) by telephone and letter. On a case by case basis, the Committee ascertained the wishes of family members regarding the burial of loved ones, arranged for the shipment and interment of remains, and helped family members obtain reimbursement for burial expenses. On May 10, 1979, the first 50 unidentified bodies were buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, California. (Eventually, 412 unidentified or unclaimed bodies were interred at Evergreen.) According to the Committee's final report, 101 bodies were sent to Los Angeles for burial. Two hundred and fifty-one identified bodies were shipped to Oakland Army Base; of these, at least 59 were claimed by family members.

Acquisition information:

The collection was given to the California Historical Society by Fielding McGehee III in 2008. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries in 2025.

Processing information:

The collection was processed by Marie Silva in 2015.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series: 1) San Francisco Council of Churches records, 1974-1979; 2) Guyana Emergency Relief Committee records, 1978-1980; and 3) Donneter Lane papers relating to Peoples Temple and other religious issues, 1964-2004.

Physical location:

Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

Manuscript Collections:

Peoples Temple records, 1922-1984, MS 3800

Federal Bureau of Investigation Collection of Peoples Temple Papers from Jonestown, Guyana, 1931-1978, MS 3801

Moore Family Papers, 1968-1988, MS 3802

John R. Hall Research Materials on Peoples Temple, 1954-2003, MS 3803

Ross E. Case Collection pertaining to Peoples Temple, 1961-1984, MS 4062

Margaret T. Singer Materials on Peoples Temple, 1956-1998, MS 4123

Peoples Temple Ephemera and Publications, 1959-1979, MS 4124

Newspaper Clippings on Peoples Temple: photocopies, 1953-1978, MS 4125

Peoples Temple Miscellany Collection, 1951-[ongoing], MS 4126

Photography Collections:

Photographs from Peoples Temple Records, 1941-1983, MSP 3800

Photographs of Peoples Temple in the United States and Guyana, 1967-1978, PC 010

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Jonestown Mass Suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978
Mass burials -- California -- Oakland

Restrictions:

Open for research except for the following restricted materials: Correspondence in Box 3 from relatives of victims to the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee or United States Department of State is restricted until 2054 to protect the privacy of surviving family members. Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Terms of access:

Rights are owned by the CHS Collection at Stanford. Copyright Holder has given Institution permission to provide access to the digitized work online. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Copyright Holder. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For further information, please refer to the Permission to Publish or Broadcast Policy on the Stanford Special Collections website. Please email chscollection@stanford.edu for more information.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date] Donneter Lane papers relating to the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee (MS 3792). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:

Stanford University, California Historical Society Collection at Stanford

Department of Special Collections, Green Library

557 Escondido Mall

Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US

Contact:

(650) 725-1022

chscollection@stanford.edu

Website