FBI Section 129 • EE-1 • Letters to Dad (N-Z)

The folder labelled in the Guyana Index as “EE-Letters to Dad” was big enough that the FBI broke it down into four sections, from 126-129. The section – letters from people whose last name started from N to Z – consists of 768 pages.

The citation for these documents should open with the FBI’s official designation of these records, which is “RYMUR 89-4286.” Each individual page in these records has a unique number. Page 416 of this document, for example, is marked “EE-1-S-157”. The complete citation for that page, then, would be “RYMUR 89-4286-EE-1-S-157”.

Note: This site features many primary source documents from Peoples Temple, including letters and other writings by members of the Temple and residents of Jonestown. Many of these writings were solicited by the Temple leadership to include confessions of misdeeds and crimes which the members may – or more often, may not – have committed. These confessions were tests of the members’ loyalty, but they were collected as a means of leverage to prevent them from speaking out against the Temple in the event of their departure.

The documents in this section were transcribed almost entirely by Alexandra Prince, a professor of Religious Studies at Skidmore College, and their students. The editors are grateful for their invaluable work.

Most of the documents retain their original spelling, with corrections only for clarity and for names.

Alphabetical listings of the letters appear immediately below. Following those letter listings is listing of people whose writings are significant enough to warrant their own page. The chart underneath catalogues other significant documents located in this section.

The following residents of Jonestown had multiple entries on this page. These pages have been pulled from the letter listings above; in other words, the writings of Eva and Jim Pugh appear below but not on the page of Letters to Dad (P).

The following is a chart of other significant documents located in this section.