Jim Jones was the cult leader of the Peoples Temple who led more than 900 followers in a mass suicide known as the Jonestown Massacre. He was a good student and began to espouse radical political views after he began attending Indiana University. Thanks for your help! You can always change this later in your Account settings. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? He was a voracious reader as a child who studied men such as Adolf Hitler, Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi and Mao Zedong, taking note of the strengths and weaknesses of each. [25] In later years, Jones claimed that he performed numerous sacrilegious pranks at the churches he attended as a child. James Warren Jones was born on May 13, 1931, in the rural community of Crete, Indiana, to James Thurman Jones and Lynetta Putnam. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. [48] Marceline was Methodist, and she and Jones immediately fell into arguments about church. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. when he met German prisoners of war passing through their community en route to a detention facility. Yes! [47][24], Jones and Marceline Baldwin continued their relationship while he attended college, and the couple married on June 12, 1949. [11][10], According to multiple Jones biographers, his mother had "no natural maternal instincts" and frequently neglected her son. By 1955 he had renamed it the People's Temple Full Gospel Church. [24][44], In December 1948, Jones graduated from Richmond High School early with honors. In the mid-1960s, Jones moved his religious group to Northern California. This browser does not support getting your location. Jones also sought to disrupt familial bonds, positioning himself as the "father of all.". An observant child, Jones began taking what he learned at these different houses of worship and started preaching to other children in the community. Death Year: 1978, Death date: November 18, 1978, Death City: Jonestown, Death Country: Guyana, Article Title: Jim Jones Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/crime/jim-jones, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: September 14, 2022, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. The fascination with Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple have helped spawn various movies throughout the years. He married Lynetta Putnam from 20 December 1926 to 26 December 1926, in Gibson, Indiana, United States. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1452/jim-jones. Add to your scrapbook. In 1954, when he claimed he had met God on a train ride near Philadelphia, he was defrocked. According to Jones and a childhood friend, Jones' father was associated with the Ku Klux Klan. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Attended and graduated from Richmond High School in Richmond, Indiana in 1948. Make sure that the file is a photo. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. He started and led the Peoples' Temple in Indiana in the 1950s, and later moved it to California in the 1960s. Learn more about managing a memorial . James Warren Jones; (grandfathers) James Thurman Jones, Walter Baldwin. He was a supporter of Harvey Milk and his election to San Francisco city council. Year should not be greater than current year. googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; Jim Jones attracted a large following to his Peoples Temple through sermons on tolerance, social responsibility and community. I've got my claws! She gave Jones a Bible and encouraged him to study it and taught him to follow the holiness code of the Nazarene Church. By 1974, fifteen of Jones' followers had negotiated a lease for 27,000 acres on Guyana's western border with Venezuela, and began clearing the jungle for what would become the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, or "Jonestown." A Church of His Own Despite the fall, he continued to claim that he possessed special powers. It was the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate action until the September 11 attacks in 2001. He then moved to San Francisco's Fillmore district in 1965. He was in Georgetown, Guyana on November 18, 1978 with the Jonestown Basketball Team. Try again. He explained his suicide as a revolutionary act condemning the inhumane world. He developed a habit of refusing to answer anyone who spoke to him first, he only spoke to people when he initiated conversations with them. [31] He spent hours in the community library, and he brought books home so he could read them in the evenings. Interestingly a lot of the photos and footage of him from the 1970s period show him without sunglasses, despite the reputation of him wearing them non-stop. . One recurring tactic he used was to tell her that one of her close friends or family members had suddenly died, and then comfort her over the loss, before finally admitting to her the story was untrue. This was known as the Jonestown massacre. A total of 914 people died that day at Jonestown in a mass-suicide, including 276 children, although later investigation indicated a number of the people were murdered by shooting or by forced lethal injection. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Please try again later. I've got a hell of a lot to fight! She is one of six people who died in Jonestown, Guyana prior to 11/18/1978. Siblings (all adoptive) Stephanie Jones (died in 1959); Suzanne Jones; Agnes Pauline Jones; Stephan Gandhi Jones; James Warren (Jimmie) Jones, Jr.; Timothy Glenn Tupper (Day) Jones; John Moss Brown Jones; Jim Jon (Kimo) Prokes; (?) ' You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Mother of James Warren Jones. The military pension he received for his injuries was not sufficient to support his family, and he attempted to supplement his income by periodically working on local road repair projects. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Oops, we were unable to send the email. James Thurman Jones. He frequently confronted them for drinking beer, smoking, and dancing. April 16, 2019 April 28, 2019 AS Asks, James Thurman Jones, Photos. He arranged a huge convention from June11 to June 15, 1956. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. He developed a keen interest in religion and its influence on people. His overpowering religious zest turned off some, and he, in turn, disliked many typical teenage boy activities, such as sports, and objected what he believed to be sinful behavior, such as dancing or drinking. At Jonestown, Jones called his congregation together, and ordered them to drink grape flavored cyanide-laced Flavor-Aid. He worked as director of the Human Rights Commission in Indianapolis and was instrumental in the racial integration of churches, restaurants, the telephone company, the police department and the Methodist Hospital at Indiana University. He started preaching in San Francisco, opening up a branch of his church there. From The Palladium Item May 31, 1951. As the self-proclaimed messiah of the Peoples Temple religious cult, Jones promised his followers utopia if they followed him. On November 18, 1978, in what became known as the Jonestown Massacre, Jones led more than 900 men, women and children to their deaths in a mass suicide via cyanide-laced punch (spawning the metaphor "Don't Drink the Kool-Aid"). Had some association with Father Divine, and his ministry, and later with Divine's widow; he was hoping to merge their Peace Mission with the People's Temple. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He was obsessed with death from childhood. In the late 1950s, Jones made visits to see Father Divine, a charismatic black preacher with a multiracial congregation. The church soon became known as the Peoples Temple. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Jim Jones (1452)? He started and led the Peoples Temple in Indiana in the 1950s, and later moved it to California in the 1960s. Secretly, he also joined the Communist party on the side. The people in his community found his idolization of Nazi Germany disturbing. They were the parents of at least 1 son. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. There was some kind of school performance, and everybody's parent was there but mine. Managed by: Not only did they fall for his talk of a better life, many surrendered what they had to Jones. On November 18, 1978, Ryan toured Jonestown with a television crew in tow. He got married young, to a nurse 4 years his senior, and adopted 3 children of diverse ethnic backgrounds.Jones began working as a Methodist minister in Indianapolis in the early 1950 decade. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). The Temple joined the Disciples of Christ in 1960 and Jones was ordained in 1964. [19] Jones began to develop a desire to become a preacher as a youth and began to practice preaching in private. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Only once in the past decade has James averaged more points than that (30.3 PPG in 2021 . [55] Jones also became frustrated with the persecution of communists in the U.S.[56] Reflecting back on his participation in the Communist Party, Jones said that he asked himself, "How can I demonstrate my Marxism? However, he stated his work with the Rio de Janeiro slum areas and explored local Brazilian syncretic religions. A riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement. Shit! His mother Lynetta (Putman) Jones worked odd jobs throughout the region, while his father James Thurman Jones was disabled during World War 1 and increasingly sunk into alcoholism. In one event, Jones's mother was harassed by FBI agents in front of her co-workers because she had attended a communist meeting with her son. Failed to delete flower. Jimmy decided to stage an elaborate funeral for the other school. In the world of documentary, there have been even more: Jonestown: Paradise Lost (2007), CNN Presents: Escape From Jonestown (2008), Seconds From Disaster, "Jonestown Cult Suicide" episode (2012), and Witness to Jonestown (2013). World War I VeteranHe was gassed in the trenches during the War and suffered ill health the rest of his life. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. The stories that Jones told of his young life were more morality tales than biographical reflections. Meanwhile back at Jonestown, Jones launched what he called his "revolutionary suicide" campaign. I believe we're the purest Communists there are. James was a member of the Church of Christ in Arkansas. [8][9][10] In Lynn, the family attempted to earn an income through farming, but again met with failure when Jones's father's health further deteriorated. [5], Although his strange religious practices stood out the most to his neighbors, they also reported that he misbehaved in more serious ways. [27] Jones regularly used offensive profanity, commonly greeting his friends and neighbors by saying, "Good morning, you son of a bitch" or, "Hello, you dirty bastard". He led the Peoples Temple, a doomsday cult, between 1955 and 1978. Jones died on 18 November 1978. https://www.biography.com/people/jim-jones-10367607, https://venusinthefifth2.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/astrological-analysis-of-cult-leaders-jim-jones/, https://thoseconspiracyguys.com/jim-jones-mind-control-techniques/, https://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/news/history/retroindy/2016/11/18/jim-jones-from-indiana-to-jonestown/94064198/. As the church grew, however, the sermons on equality and tolerance were belied by his own increasing demands for personal loyalty and obedience. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. // cutting the mustard Try again later. James Thurman Jones (grandparent) Lynetta Putnam (grandparent) Trivia (4) Only natural son of Rev. I'm standing there, alone. Family (3) Spouse [35] He almost always carried his bible with him. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Armed guards stood at the compound's perimeter. He used to set up stings to catch restaurants refusing to serve black customers and wrote to American Nazi leaders and then leaked their responses to the media. Son of a bitchin' no good lousy ass anarchistic capitalist bitch. A post office now stands in its place. 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