The Letters of Terri Buford, 1972 – 1978

Among the documents that the FBI recovered in the aftermath of the Jonestown tragedy were numerous letters and reports written by Terri Buford, a woman who served in the Peoples Temple leadership. She was also one of Jim Jones’ lovers, although her writings about their relationship cannot be considered truly reflective of it: they were sometimes performative, in that she periodically told Jones what she thought he wanted to hear.

Terri Buford left Jonestown in September 1978 with the intention never to return. She did remain on the Temple staff in San Francisco for another six weeks, until her departure on October 27, 1978. Even that departure was cloaked in subterfuge, in that she claimed in her final letter to Jean Brown that she was on still working in the campaign to counter the efforts of Tim Stoen.

Most of the letters below are from Buford to Jones, and many of those blur the line between personal correspondence and administrative reports.

The tests of these letters have been broken into three categories: letters written prior to her departure from Jonestown; letters written during the six-week interim period before her departure; and her final letters.

The following PDFs reflect those breakdowns as well: Letters from 1972 – 1978; Letters from Fall 1978; and Letters of Departure.

Insofar as possible, the letters have been listed below in chronological order. They were transcribed and annotated by Cole Waterman. The editors are grateful for his invaluable assistance and considerable eye to detail.