Peoples Temple records, 1922-1984, bulk 1955-1984

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Abstract:
Consists of materials created and collected by court receiver Robert H. Fabian in his efforts to identify and locate Peoples Temple assets and settle more than 750 claims against the church. The collection includes correspondence, realia, ephemera, legal documents, financial documents, and Temple promotional material and member information.
Extent:
145 Linear Feet (101 record cartons, 36 manuscript boxes, 4 flat boxes, 2 card boxes)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item] Peoples Temple Records (MS 3800). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Peoples Temple records consist of materials collected by Robert H. Fabian, the court-appointed receiver for Peoples Temple charged with identifying and locating Peoples Temple assets and settling the more than 750 claims that arose from the mass suicide/murder that occurred on November 18, 1978, in Guyana. The collection includes manuscripts, realia, photographs, ephemera, legal documents, court depositions, financial documents, newspaper and magazine articles, research materials, testimonials and letters of support, and administrative records created by the Temple in their day-to-day activities. The materials generated by the receiver date from February 1979 to March 1984, though many files contain earlier materials used as supporting evidence for claims.

Biographical / historical:

Peoples Temple began as a church founded by Jim and Marceline Jones and a small group of parishioners in Indianapolis in 1955. As pastor, Jim Jones preached to a congregation during Pentecostal-based services that included healings and sermons on integration and class conflicts. Peoples Temple conducted food drives; opened a free restaurant that served thousands of meals; operated nursing homes; and hosted weekly television and radio programs featuring their integrated choir. The church became well known in the Indianapolis press for the members' integration activities and for their assertions of their pastor's gifts as a healer. The church became affiliated with the Disciples of Christ denomination in 1960.

In the summer of 1965, the Jones family and approximately one hundred Peoples Temple members relocated to Redwood Valley, a rural community eight miles north of Ukiah in Mendocino County. Peoples Temple conducted church services and meetings in rented and borrowed spaces until 1969 when they finished building their own church with a swimming pool, an animal shelter, gardens, and a community kitchen. By this time, the church's membership had grown to three hundred.

In 1970, Jim Jones began to preach in cities throughout California. Recruiting drives in African American communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles increased Peoples Temple membership to over twenty-five hundred by 1973. Some members lived in communal housing and worked full time for Peoples Temple. Others contributed significant portions of their income and property to the church. The church's operations included real estate management; home care facilities for seniors and youths; publishing and bookkeeping services; mail order services; and maintenance of a fleet of buses to transport members to services throughout the state and across the country. Thousands of people, including politicians and members of other congregations, attended Peoples Temple services between 1970 and 1977.

Peoples Temple set about establishing an agricultural and rural development mission in Guyana, South America in the fall of 1973. Over the next two years, members traveled to Guyana to scout a location for the mission; establish a residence in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana; clear the land; and begin construction at the site. The building plans for the community which became known as Jonestown included farm buildings, a large communal kitchen, medical facilities, schools, dormitory-style housing, small cabins, a day care center and a large open-air pavilion that became the community's central meeting place.

By 1976, Peoples Temple had moved its headquarters from Redwood Valley to San Francisco and had become involved in citywide electoral politics. They published their own newspaper, Peoples Forum and were vocal in their support of politial and social causes. In the fall of 1976, recently elected Mayor George Moscone appointed Jim Jones to the San Francisco Housing Authority. Jones served as its chairman until he left for Guyana the following year.

In 1977, former members and relatives organized a group called the Concerned Relatives and media coverage of Peoples Temple practices and political activities led to investigations into the church's financial and social welfare programs. Peoples Temple began to close many of their businesses, sell their properties, and relocate hundreds of their members to Guyana.

In response to issues raised by the media, California Congressman Leo Ryan scheduled a trip to Jonestown in November 1978. Members of Ryan's staff, Concerned Relatives, and journalists accompanied Ryan. As the group left for the airstrip at Port Kaituma, sixteen disaffected Jonestown residents chose to leave with him. As the group boarded two small airplanes at the airstrip, Peoples Temple members drove up on tractors and began shooting. Five people died at the Port Kaituma airstrip shootings: Congressman Leo Ryan; photographer Greg Robinson of The San Francisco Examiner; cameraman Bob Brown and reporter Don Harris from NBC; and Peoples Temple member Patricia Parks. Others were seriously wounded. That same day, November 18, 1978, more than nine hundred people died, most by cyanide poisoning, in Jonestown; four other members died in Georgetown.

After the deaths, all Peoples Temple assets were frozen and placed under court supervision and the process of dissolving Peoples Temple began. The court oversaw the burial of hundreds of unclaimed and unidentified bodies from Jonestown. The court also set up a system to handle claims filed against the Peoples Temple estate. Claims were filed by the governments of Guyana and the United States; people injured at the airstrip; relatives of the deceased; and people who had turned over property to Peoples Temple.

The court ultimately recovered and disbursed over $13 million in assets recovered from cash found in the U.S. and Guyana, from international accounts found in Panama, Caracas, Grenada and other countries, and from the sale of Peoples Temple properties and assets. In June 1983, the court approved the transfer of the records of Peoples Temple to the California Historical Society.

Acquisition information:
The Peoples Temple Records were given to the California Historical Society by orders of the California Superior Court and of the Guyana High Court, facilitated by Robert H. Fabian in June 1983. Additions were made in May 1986. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries, 2025.
Custodial history:

Documents in the Peoples Temple records were gathered and created by Robert H. Fabian, the court-appointed receiver. Peoples Temmple documents came from a number of locations:

Records in the first eight series were removed from the Peoples Temple offices on Geary Boulevard during the beginning of the receiver's operations. The offices and the church building on Geary Boulevard continued to be used by surviving members without restriction until February 1979. Many records were removed from the offices during this interim period.

Many records were taken to Jonestown during the resettlement; these, and other documents, were confiscated by the FBI for the investigation into the death of Congressman Leo Ryan and trial of Laurence Layton. The originals of these documents are now held by the FBI. A complete set of photocopies of these documents can be found in MS 3801.

Charles Garry, attorney for the Peoples Temple, had legal files in his offices. Many of these documents remained there as they did not pertain to finance, and hence were not needed by the receiver to resolve the financial matters of Peoples Temple, his primary assigment.

Records in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation series were obtained by the receiver from these agencies. Documents in the last two series were generated from the receiver's investigations, the dissolution of the church, and the resulting court cases and settlement of claims.

Processing information:

Processed by Sandra McCoy Larson in 1985. Records were originally stored in metal file cabinets with location numbers on each drawer such as 1A, lB, etc. These numbers have been transferred to the upper, right corner of most records. The collection was rehoused in 2006 by Denice Stephenson, and additional processing was done by CHS archivists in 2010 and 2025.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into twelve series: Series 1: Indiana; Series 2: Operations; Series 3: Legal Counsel; Series 4: Finance; Series 5: Agricultural Mission; Series 6: Personal Records; Series 7: Media; Series 8: Subjects; Series 9: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office; Series 10: Federal Bureau of Investigation; Series 11: Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ v. Attorney General of California; and Series 12:United States v. Peoples Temple.

The divisions and subdivisions in Series 1-9 derive fundamentally from the recordkeeping practices of Peoples Temple staff. The state of the records when removed from the Peoples Temple offices by the receiver made it necessary to re-create some of the arrangement. In addition, most files that contained correspondence with other types of records were separated, and the correspondence placed in front of the files for research and preservation purposes.

Series 10-12 reflects the arrangement of documents in the order required to provide evidence to the court and for the settlement of claims. The arrangement was imposed by the receiver and his staff.

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

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Jonestown Mass Suicide, Jonestown, Guyana, 1978
Governmental investigations -- Guyana -- Jonestown
Places:
Jonestown (Guyana) -- History
Indexes:

Index

Indexed corporation names include media organizations such as television, radio, and newspapers, as well as political and governmental organizations. Not included in the corporate name index are the individual names of the many religious and charitable organizations that Peoples Temple corresponded with, or donated to.

Abzug, Bella S.,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Ackman, Margaret,
folder 1001 folder 1001
Agnos, Art,
folder 17 folder 17
Alioto, Joseph L.,
folders 11-13, 1213 folders 11-13, 1213
American Civil Liberties Union,
folders 10-16, 20, 1198 folders 10-16, 20, 1198
American-Russian Institute,
folder 21 folder 21
American Nazi Party,
folder 7 folder 7
American Indian Movement,
folder 12 folder 12
Anderson, Jack,
folders 10, 14, 1257 folders 10, 14, 1257
Atlanta Constitution,
folder 12 folder 12
Anti-Defamation League,
folders 8, 10 folders 8, 10
Banks, Dennis,
folders 36, 1003, 1260, 2216 folders 36, 1003, 1260, 2216
Barbagelata, John J.,
folders 18, 20 folders 18, 20
Bay Guardian,
folder 18 folder 18
Bayh, Birch,
folder 8 folder 8
Bergland, Bob,
folder 17 folder 17
Bingham, Jonathan B.,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Black Graduate Caucus, U.C. Berkeley,
folder 18 folder 18
Blumenthal, W. Michael,
folders 18, 21 folders 18, 21
Bond, Julian,
folders 13-15, 18 folders 13-15, 18
Boswell, Charles H.,
folder 7 folder 7
Bradley, Tom,
folders 11-12, 14-15 folders 11-12, 14-15
Bradley, Mrs. Tom,
folder 13 folder 13
Brown, Edmund G., Jr.,
folders 15-16 folders 15-16
Brown, George E., Jr.,
folders 11, 13, 1001 folders 11, 13, 1001
Brown, Harold,
folder 17 folder 17
Brown, Willie L., Jr.,
folders 23, 1003 folders 23, 1003
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior,
folder 74 folder 74
Burke, Yvonne Brathwaite,
folders 11-12, 1003 folders 11-12, 1003
Burnham, Linden Forbes,
folders 52, 1002, 1003, 1205 folders 52, 1002, 1003, 1205
Burton, Phillip,
folders 25, 1213 folders 25, 1213
Burton, John L.,
folder 24 folder 24
CBS news,
folders 18, 149 folders 18, 149
Caen, Herb,
folders 8-9, 10, 14, 16, 19, 21-22, 51 folders 8-9, 10, 14, 16, 19, 21-22, 51
Califano, Joseph A., Jr.,
folders 18, 21, 51-52 folders 18, 21, 51-52
Carter, Jimmy,
Foldes 36, 51-52, 1003 Foldes 36, 51-52, 1003
Carter, Rosalynn,
folders 36, 51 folders 36, 51
Castro, Fidel,
folders 54, 1002 folders 54, 1002
Chicago Tribune,
folder 13 folder 13
Christian Science Monitor,
folders 10, 12, 14 folders 10, 12, 14
Cincinnati Enquirer,
folder 10 folder 10
Clausen, Don H.,
folders 11-13, 1001 folders 11-13, 1001
Cleaver, Eldridge,
folders 18, 1218 folders 18, 1218
Coleman, Lee,
folder 13 folder 13
Collier, Randolph,
folder 42 folder 42
Collins, Cardiss,
folder 13 folder 13
Concerned Relatives,
folder 1208 folder 1208
Coughlan, Lawrence,
folders 10, 17, 19 folders 10, 17, 19
Coughlin, Lawrence,
folder 11 folder 11
Cranston, Alan,
folder 26, 36, 1003, 2213 folder 26, 36, 1003, 2213
Davis, Grace,
folder 14 folder 14
Dellums, Ronald V.,
folders 8, 17-18, 20, 1213 folders 8, 17-18, 20, 1213
Diggs, Charles C., Jr.,
folder 8 folder 8
Dymally, Mervin,
folders 27, 1002-1003, 1213 folders 27, 1002-1003, 1213
Eason, Jim,
folder 16 folder 16
Eckhardt, Bob,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Edwards, Don,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Ellsberg, Daniel,
folder 1202 folder 1202
Ervin, Sam J., Jr.,
folders 8, 10, 1213 folders 8, 10, 1213
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
folders 20 folders 20
Federal Communications Commission,
folders 10, 13, 52, 90 folders 10, 13, 52, 90
Fienstein, Dianne,
folders 15, 17 folders 15, 17
Finkle, Alex L.,
folder 28 folder 28
Fonda, Jane,
folder 20 folder 20
Fong, March K.,
folder 9 folder 9
Ford, Betty,
folder 36 folder 36
Ford, Gerald,
folder 36 folder 36
Ford, Harold,
folder 14 folder 14
Freed, Donald,
folder 1202 folder 1202
Fresno Bee,
folders 16, 18 folders 16, 18
Freitas, Joseph,
folders 15, 17-18, 21, 85 folders 15, 17-18, 21, 85
Friedman, Jeffrey M.,
folder 13 folder 13
Gain, Charles,
folder29, 158 folder29, 158
Goodlett, Carlton B.,
folders 30, 1002, 1258 folders 30, 1002, 1258
Gould, Charles L.,
folder 10 folder 10
Gravel, Mike,
folders 8, 9, 1213 folders 8, 9, 1213
Guyana Council of Churches,
folders 141, 1001-1003, 1012 folders 141, 1001-1003, 1012
Hall, Joseph E.,
folder 14 folder 14
Harris, Patricia Roberts,
folder 21 folder 21
Hart, Philip A.,
folders 12, 1213 folders 12, 1213
Hatcher, Richard Gordon,
folder 13 folder 13
Hawkins, Augustus F.,
folder 11 folder 11
Hayakawa, S.I.,
folder 18 folder 18
Hearst, Patricia,
folder 1208 folder 1208
Hearst, Randolph, A.,
folder 31 folder 31
Herald-Dispatch,
folders 10, 12 folders 10, 12
Herald-Examiner,
folder 10 folder 10
Holland Roberts Center, American Russian Inst,
folder 1459 folder 1459
Hongisto, Richard,
folders 10-11, 15, 17, 56 folders 10-11, 15, 17, 56
Hoppe, Arthur,
folder 12 folder 12
Houston Chronicle,
folder 10 folder 10
Houston Post,
folder 10 folder 10
Humphrey, Hubert,
folders 9, 15, 21, 1213 folders 9, 15, 21, 1213
Hunter, Kathy,
folder 1212 folder 1212
Indianapolis Star,
folders 8, 10 folders 8, 10
Insight,
folders 14-15 folders 14-15
Indianapolis Times,
folder 7 folder 7
Internal Revenue Service,
folders 8, 20, 52, 2215 folders 8, 20, 52, 2215
International Human Rights Commission,
folders 22, 52 folders 22, 52
Irvin, Karl,
folders 32, 68, 1213 folders 32, 68, 1213
Jackson, Henry,
folders 1213 folders 1213
Jagan, Cheddi,
folder 1002 folder 1002
Jewish Federation Council,
folder 13 folder 13
Jewish Welfare Federation,
folder 14 folder 14
Karabian, Walter,
folder 12 folder 12
KCBS,
folder 1212 folder 1212
Kennedy, Edward M.,
folders 8-9, 12 folders 8-9, 12
KFAX,
folders 8-9, 1212 folders 8-9, 1212
KGO,
folders 10-12, 16-17, 19, 149, 1212 folders 10-12, 16-17, 19, 149, 1212
Kilduff, Marshall,
folder 1198 folder 1198
Kinsolving, Lester,
folder 149 folder 149
Koch, Edward I.,
folder 8 folder 8
Kopp, Quentin L.,
folders 17, 19 folders 17, 19
KPIX,
folders 5, 12 folders 5, 12
KPOO,
folder 16 folder 16
KQED,
folders 7, 10, 18-19 folders 7, 10, 18-19
Krebs, Max,
folder 1001 folder 1001
Kreps, Juanita M.,
folder 18 folder 18
KRON,
folders 16-17, 20 folders 16-17, 20
KSFO,
folders 18, 1003, 1198, 1212 folders 18, 1003, 1198, 1212
Lane, Mark,
folder 1202 folder 1202
Leggett, Robert L.,
folder 8 folder 8
Lewis, Jerry (Muscular Dystrophy Association),
folder 17 folder 17
Licht, Frank,
folder 8 folder 8
Lightner, Clarence E.,
folder 12 folder 12
Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
folder 10 folder 10
Los Angeles Times,
folders 10, 13-15 folders 10, 13-15
Luckhoo, Lionel,
folders 1001-1002, 1389 folders 1001-1002, 1389
Marks, Milton,
folder 33 folder 33
McCall, Tom,
folder 11 folder 11
McCarthy, John F.,
folder 7 folder 7
McCarthy, Leo T.,
folders 12, 1213 folders 12, 1213
McCoy, Richard,
folders 52, 1003 folders 52, 1003
McGovern, George,
folders 8-9 folders 8-9
Magnuson, Warren G.,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Mann, Lawrence,
folders 52, 1001-1002, 1012 folders 52, 1001-1002, 1012
Mazor, Joseph,
folder 21 folder 21
Mendocino Grapevine,
folders 52-53 folders 52-53
Miami Herald,
folder 10 folder 10
Milk, Harvey,
folders 10-15, 17, 21-22, 1003 folders 10-15, 17, 21-22, 1003
Miller, George,
folder 21 folder 21
Mink, Patsy T.,
folders 8, 11, 1213 folders 8, 11, 1213
Mitchell, Parren J.,
folder 8 folder 8
Molinari, John L.,
folder 16 folder 16
Mondale, Walter,
folder 36, 1213 folder 36, 1213
Morales, Vincente,
folder 22 folder 22
Moscone, George R.,
folder 34 folder 34
Moyer, Bill,
folder 18 folder 18
Muhammed, Elijah,
folders 14-16, 18 folders 14-16, 18
Murdock, Rupert,
folders 20, 149, 1198 folders 20, 149, 1198
Murphy, George,
folder 7 folder 7
NAACP,
folders 11, 13-14, 16-17, 19, 51, 1002 folders 11, 13-14, 16-17, 19, 51, 1002
National Enquirer,
folder 149, 1213 folder 149, 1213
National Organization for Women,
folder 1003 folder 1003
Nelder, Alfred J.,
folder 7-8, 17 folder 7-8, 17
New Times,
folder 21 folder 21
New York Times,
folders 10, 14 folders 10, 14
New West,
folder 149 folder 149
New York Post,
folders 149, 1198 folders 149, 1198
Newsweek,
folder 149 folder 149
Nixon, Richard,
folder 36 folder 36
Oakland Tribune,
folder 10 folder 10
Panama,
folders 1459-1463 folders 1459-1463
Petris, Nicholas C.,
folder 13 folder 13
Poage, W.R.,
folder 21 folder 21
Poff, Richard H.,
folder 8 folder 8
Press Democrat Publishing Company,
folder 10 folder 10
Proxmire, William,
folder 7, 1213 folder 7, 1213
PUSH,
folder 14 folder 14
Reagan, Ronald,
folder 36 folder 36
Reid, Ogden R.,
folder 8 folder 8
Reid, Ptolemy,
folders 52, 1001-1003 folders 52, 1001-1003
Reiterman, Tim,
folders 149, 1202 folders 149, 1202
Richardson, Elliot L.,
folder 10 folder 10
Riles, Wilson,
folders 12, 22 folders 12, 22
Rosenthal, Benjamin S.,
folder 8 folder 8
Rousselot, John H.,
folder 7 folder 7
Ryan, Leo J.,
folder 21 folder 21
Sacramento Bee,
folders 21, 1199, 1213 folders 21, 1199, 1213
Sacramento Union,
folders 9, 149 folders 9, 149
San Francisco Council of Churches,
folders 14-17 folders 14-17
San Francisco Chronicle,
folders 9-10, 13-16, 21 folders 9-10, 13-16, 21
San Francisco Examiner,
folders 10, 14, 20-21, 51, 149, 1199 folders 10, 14, 20-21, 51, 149, 1199
San Francisco Housing Authority,
folders 16, 18-20, 1198 folders 16, 18-20, 1198
Santa Rosa Press Democrat,
folders 10, 51, 149 folders 10, 51, 149
Saulsbury, Donn D.,
folders 10, 12 folders 10, 12
Schrunk, Terry P.,
folder 9 folder 9
Scott, Donald M.,
folders 8-9, 1213 folders 8-9, 1213
Shriver, Sargent,
folder 9 folder 9
Smith, Margaret Chase,
folder 9 folder 9
Sparkman, John,
folders 21, 52 folders 21, 52
Stark, Fortney H. (Pete),
folder 12 folder 12
Starr, Kevin,
folder 1198 folder 1198
Stennis, John C.,
folder 16 folder 16
Stokes, Louis,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Sun Reporter,
folders 15, 30 folders 15, 30
Synanon,
folder 21 folder 21
Talbot, Frederick H.,
folder 1001 folder 1001
Thurman, John E.,
folder 14 folder 14
Thieriot, Charles de Young,
folders 10, 22 folders 10, 22
Tracy, Phil,
folder 1198 folder 1198
Tumminia, Frank,
folders 52, 1003 folders 52, 1003
Tunney, John V.,
folders 8, 12, 1258, 2213 folders 8, 12, 1258, 2213
Ukiah Daily Journal,
folders 10, 16, 149, 1212-1213 folders 10, 16, 149, 1212-1213
United Farm Worker's of America,
folder 21 folder 21
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights,
folders 9, 12, 1213 folders 9, 12, 1213
Unruh, Jesse M.,
folder 7 folder 7
Van de Kamp, John,
folder 51 folder 51
Vance, Cyrus R.,
folders 21, 52 folders 21, 52
Veysey, Victor V.,
folder 9 folder 9
Voropaez,
folder 52 folder 52
Waldheim, Kurt,
folder 52 folder 52
Waldie, Jerome R.,
folders 8, 1213 folders 8, 1213
Washington Post,
folders 9-10, 14 folders 9-10, 14
Washington Star-News,
folder 13 folder 13
Welsh, Matthew E.,
folder 7 folder 7
Widener, Warren,
folders 8, 21-22 folders 8, 21-22
Williams, A. Cecil,
folder 37 folder 37
Wirth, Timothy,
folders 21-22 folders 21-22
Wirtz, W. Willard,
folder 7 folder 7
World Council of Churches,
folder 11 folder 11
Worrell, Claude,
folders 1001-1002, 1012, 2213 folders 1001-1002, 1012, 2213
Young, Coleman A.,
folders 12-13 folders 12-13
Younger, Evelle,
folders 12, 51 folders 12, 51
Zablocki, J.,
folder 2432 folder 2432

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research except for materials restricted for legal and privacy reasons (see file-level notes).

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] Peoples Temple Records (MS 3800). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:
Department of Special Collections, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
chscollection@stanford.edu
Website