Barbara C. Moore Correspondence
Scope and Contents
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.
Dates
- Creation: 1968-1999
Creator
- Moore, Barbara C. (Person)
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright interests in some or all of these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creator(s) of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of archival collections is such that multiple creators are often applicable and copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. In any case, the user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, obtaining publication rights and copyright infringement. When requesting images from Special Collections & University Archives for publication, we require a signed agreement waiving San Diego State University of any liability in the event of a copyright violation.
Biographical Note
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.
Extent
2.52 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement Note
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
Accruals
2016-025
Subject
- Jones, Jim, 1931-1978 (Person)
- Title
- Barbara C. Moore Correspondence
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Shawna Bishop
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections & University Archives Repository