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Finding aid to the Donneter Lane papers relating to the Guyana
Emergency Relief Committee, MS 3792
MS 3792
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Title: Donneter Lane papers relating to the Guyana Emergency Relief
Committee
Date (bulk): 1978-1980
Date (inclusive): 1964-2004
Collection Identifier: MS 3792
Ceator:
Lane, Donneter.
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org
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.
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,
unless researcher can show proof that the person is deceased, or has provided proof
of permission by the party named to CHS.
Correspondence 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. Redacted photocopies are available for research use.
Relatives of victims should contact the manuscripts librarian for access to original
correspondence.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library and Archives, North Baker
Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Consent 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 from
the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Reproduction of collection materials may be restricted at the discretion of CHS
library staff.
[Identification of item], Donneter Lane papers relating to the Guyana Emergency
Relief Committee, MS 3792, California Historical Society.
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
The collection was given to the California Historical Society by Fielding McGehee III
in 2008.
The collection was processed by Marie Silva in 2015.
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.
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.
History of the Guyana Emergency Relief Committee
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.
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.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog:
Jonestown Mass Suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978.
Mass burials--California--Oakland.
Peoples Temple--Estate.
Peoples Temple--Trials, litigation,
etc.
Guyana Emergency Relief Committee.
United States. Department of State.
Evergreen Cemetery (Oakland, Calif.).