Perspectives on Carolyn Layton

With the possible exception of Marceline Jones – and, of course, the notable exception of Jim Jones – the member of the Jonestown leadership group about whom both this website and the Peoples Temple Discussion Forum receive the most inquiries is Carolyn Moore Layton. She is known by many of her relationships – longtime lover of Jim Jones, mother of Jones’ child Jim Jon (Kimo) Prokes, sister of Annie Moore, former wife of Larry Layton, former sister-in-law of Debby Layton – as well as the sometimes-mysterious roles she played within the Peoples Temple hierarchy.

For these reasons, we’ve asked several people who knew Carolyn best – and, in the case of Rikke Wettendorff, someone who has carefully studied her – to offer their perspectives on Carolyn.

It should be noted that Carolyn is the sister and sister-in-law of the managers of this website and editors of the jonestown report, Rebecca Moore – who also wrote a piece for this section – and Fielding M. McGehee III, respectively.

1. Carolyn Moore: A Father’s Biography, by John V Moore
2. Carolyn’s Other Letters, by Rebecca Moore
3. Carolyn Layton: Jonestown’s American Gothic, by Laura Johnston Kohl
4. Carolyn Layton: The Grey Eminence, by Mike Cartmell
5. My Brother’s Mother, by Stephan Jones
6. Carolyn Layton was a mother too, by Rikke Wettendorff