Born Sunday, February 2, 1873 at Grandma Knittles house on 4th Street, McKeesport, Pa.  Died August 26, 1960 in Grand Island, Ne with burial in Grand Island Cemetery. Charlie was married to Mary Miles. 

More About Charles Wesley Sallinger---Charlie and Mary had no children of their own but raised William's son. Myrl from Age 3, was like a grandfather to Myrl's children and was loved by all.  In the 40's, he drove a bus for the City of Grand Island and in the 50's he was a night watchman at the Soldier and Sailors Home.  He moved in with Myrl and Ellen when his health deteriorated in the late 50's  and was later moved to a nursing home where he passed away. 
 

Charlie & Mary

Charlie Sallinger

Charlie Sallinger

Born Monday, April 12, 1875 at Grandma Knittles house on 4th Street McKeesport, Pa.;  Died April 13, 1876 at age 1 yr in McKeesport.

Born Thursday February 7, 1878 at Grandma Knittles house on 4th Street McKeesport, Pa; Died Thursday, March 5, 1878. 

Born February 7, 1879, McKeesport, Pa; Died May 20, 1964 Grand Island, Ne with burial in Grand Island Cemetery.  Edward married Emma Ring March 6th, 1907 in Grand Island. Emma was born March 2, 1885; died January 1971 and is buried in Grand Island Cemetery. To this union were born 5 children; Frank Wesly; Elmer Edward; Carl Lloyd; Fern Gertrude and Wilbur.
 
 

Ed and Emma Sallinger 50th Anniversary

Ed's Family L-R: Wesly, Elmer, Carl Fern, Ed, Emma and Wilbur

Ed Sallinger, 85, retired custodian of Westlawn School and a resident of this vicinity most of his life, died this morning in the family home at 402 East Seventh.  Mr Sallinger had been in ill  health for several months. Death was due to a heart ailment.  Mr Sallinger was a native of McKeesport, Pa. He was born there Feb 7, 1879 to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sallinger. When he was a small child, the family came to Hall County.  Mr. Sallinger and Miss Emma Ring were married here March 6,1907. Mr and Mrs. Sallinger lived first on a farm in Hamilton County.  Later, they farmed for many years in the Cairo Community..Than after farming for a period near Shelton, Ne, they left the farm in 1942 and moved to Grand Island.  Mr. Sallinger was a member of the Westlawn Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife; five children, Wesly of Shelton; Elmer of Winchester, VA; Carl Sallinger and Mrs. Virgil (Fern) Cole of Grand Island and Wilbur Sallinger of Wichita, KS; 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.  Funeral services will be held at 1:30 Friday afternoon in the chapel of the  Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home. Dr. Lawrence Davis, Pastor of Trinity Methodist Church will officiate. Pallbearers will be Danny, Larry, Don and Bill Sallinger; Don Ruyle and Curtis Thienel. 

Note:  The above article does not mention the period of time prior to 1942 that the family moved to Niangua, MO because of a severe drought in Nebraska that left farmers unable to grow crops.  Food was scarce as was the ability to generate an income forcing many Nebraska farmers to search elswhere to generate an income to support their families.  Two family members remained behind, Elmer and Carl, for a period and joined the "C's" which provided a small income that they forwarded to their parents. The family returned to Grand Island around 1942 where Ed gained employment with the Westlawn School.

Grandma was loved by all her grandchildren and was equally loved by them.  Going to Grandma's house as a child brings back many memorable moments.  Moments filled with fun, laughter, always lots of food and a sense of belonging.  Her five children with their families would always gather at Grandma's house for holidays or special events and Grandma was never caught with an empty "Cookie" jar.  Her grandchildren never went wanting and no hands were slapped for getting into the cookie jar.  The adults, after a grand meal, would gather around Grandma's table, filling the room with laughter, telling tales and stories on one another of their memorable moments in growing up, while the children played their games, creating memories to recall years later for their own story telliing.  Too soon, everyone grew up and Grandma's children became grandparents themselves---- spending more time with their own families----and less time at Grandma's house.  But Grandma still had plenty of visitors with her grandchildren stopping by to see her-----she kept a constant watch, looking for someone to come by----longing to see that loved one and her face would light up with joy when seeing one of her children or grandchildren.  And no matter how long it may have been between visitors, the "COOKIE" jar always remained full and a snack of milk or coffee and cookies were a must during a visit with Grandma.

Born February 28, 1882 in the Prarie Creek Community, 5 1/2 miles North West of Grand Island, Ne. Died in 1954 in Grand Island.  Was married to Pearl Graham.. 
 
 

Frank E. & Pearl Sallinger

Frank E. Sallinger, 73, a life long resident of this community, died suddenly while at work Monday morning, April 12, 1954.  He had appeared in his usual health earlier in the morning.  Death was attributed to a heart attack.  The family home is at 1916 W 11th in Grand Island, Ne.  Funeral rites will be held April 15th, 1954 at 2:00 in the Livingston Sondermann Funeral Home.  The rev. Alan Justad, pastor of Trinity Methodist Church will officiate.  Burial is to be in Grand Island Cemetary.  Frank Elliot Sallinger was born February 28, 1881 on a farm five miles northwest of Grand Island in Prarie Creek Township.  Mr. Sallinger had farmed in this community for more than 40 years.  After leaving the farm, he was employed by the city of Grand Island, Bartz Floral Co. and the Soldiers and Sailors Home.  Since his retirement, he had been employed in occasiional yard work.  He and Pearl Graham were married November 27, 1946 at Smith Center, Ks.  He is survived by his wife; 2 stepsons, Kenneth Graham of Whitefish, Mt and Laverne Graham of Los Angeles, Ca; a stepdaughter, Mrs. Bud Picker of Big Falls, Mn; 3 brothers, Charles and Ed Sallinger of Grand Island and Will Sallinger of Eaton, Co; and 2 grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents; and infant brother, Dickey; and 2 sisters, Anna, an infant and Mrs. Jennie Thomas. 

More about Pearl Graham----Pearl died Sept 23, 1991 at Polson Lake, Mt.  She was cremated and her ashes were buried in a country cemetary in the Cairo, Ne area.

Born January 23, 1885 in Grand Island, NE and died September 10, 1946 in Greeley, CO.  She married William Thomas March 14, 1906 in Giltner, Ne.  who was born in Hamburg, Germany, October 8, 1873.  William passed away September 27, 1959 in Greeeley, CO. To this union were born 12 children; Josephine Margaret; Irma Mae; Vern David; Audrey Irene; Henrieta Evelyn; Robert Lee; Elizabeth Ann; Idabelle Gennevieve; Ralph Virgil and a set of tripletts (names unknown). 
 

. William & Mary Jane Sallinger Thomas--Wedding ...

. Mary Jane Sallinger-Dec. 1898

. William Thomas

More about Mary Jane Sallinger---Mary Jane was born on the family farm about 5 1/2 miles NW of Grand Island, Nebraska in the Prairie Creek area. She married William Thomas in Giltner, Nebraska on March 14,1906. They made their home for several years in the Phillips, Nebraska area and then moved to Grant, Nebraska.  Their final home was in Greeley, Colorado. During her child bearing years, she gave birth to 12 children of which three (triplets) were still born.
          Mary Jane suffered from rheumatoid arthritis during her last 20 years of life that crippled and confined her to a wheel chair, robbing her of the joy most mothers and grandmothers have in raising their children.  The marriage vows that she and William spoke of were not just empty words but of true love, for better or worse, as William loved her and his family and went about making a life as normal as possible for them, filled with love and laughter.  William would do all the little things that helped Mary Jane enjoy life.  Such as picking her up from the wheel chair and placing her in the car for a leisurely drive that she enjoyed so much.  Or going to the store for her, just to buy some grapes.  She cherished her children and grandchildren but her physical condition did not allow her to pick up any of her grand-babies on her own. However her family, realizing her need to express the love she felt would place the babies in her arms where she could transfer her love towards them.  Her physical condition was to the point of where movement of her arms and legs was impossible and upon her death, she had to be placed in the casket lying on her side, as her legs could not be straightened. 
        It is apparent that she was a strong Christian Lady and looked forward to the day she would meet Jesus.  In her bible, she had written her favorite spiritual hymns which were: "Abide With Me", "The Lord is My Shepherd", "Down By the River", "Going Home", "I've Anchored My Soul", "Sometime We'll Understand", "He Leadeth Me", "Haven of Rest", and "Safe In the Arms Of Jesus".  She also had written her most favorite scriptures which were 2nd Peter Verse 4 and Romans 12 Verses 1 & 2 which reads in Romans: "I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God". 
         Mary Jane found strength in these scriptures to help her through her daily living, knowing that one day, her pain and suffering would be over and she would have a new body in heaven.   As mentioned before, she loved grapes and in the end, she had sent her husband to the store to buy some.  While he  was away on Sept 10, 1946, she undoubtedly was thinking of the song "Going Home" and found peace in heaven before William could return with the grapes.  She was buried in Eaton, Colorado on Sept. 13, 1946.

About William Thomas------William was born October 8, 1873 in Hamburg, Holstine, Germany.  He came to the United States with his parents while still a baby, arriving in New York in1873.   The spelling of their name in Germany was “Tomas” and later changed to Thomas.  From New York, the family went to Illinois and settled in Warren, Davis Co., Illinois.  The family moved again to Phillips, Nebraska where William met and married Mary Jane Sallinger. 
          After William and Mary Jane were united in marriage and living a few years in the Phillips Nebraska area, they moved on west to Grant, Nebraska where he successfully raised corn and grain.  But like many farmers during the depression years, making a living was extremely tough and in order to survive, selling the farm was the only option left.  After selling, he moved his family to Greeley, Colorado where he did nursery work until his retirement.  Being agile and active, he was apparently quite proficient in his work.  As a granddaughter stated, he was a tough old German up until the day he died and when he was 84 years of age, one of his son-in-laws remembered William climbing a tree for a doctor to trim it and when finished, only the stump remained. 
          William took good care of his invalid wife and catered to her needs by doing the little things that seemed to make her happy.  During visits of his daughter and son-in-law, they would go for drives, and then after depositing the ladies at home, would go to a bar to have a beer and visit.  He was not a drinking man but enjoyed having a beer with his family when they came home.  He also loved cigars but one granddaughter stated that even though she always saw him with one in his mouth chewing on it, she never saw it lit.  His daughter Audrey, would send him boxes of cigars from time to time---until she discovered that he was selling them for twice the price.  She then just sent him money. 
          William loved life, his wife, his children and grandchildren and loved to tease and flirt.  When after experiencing a few strokes and he could no longer live alone, he was moved to a nursing home only a few months before he passed away. He continued to be active and his greatest past time at the nursing home was teasing the nurses and was apparently known on more than one floor of the nursing home.  He would frequently be missing from his assigned floor and could be found teasing the nurses on another floor.  In the end, another stroke took his life away from this earth and was most likely re-united with his wife.  One can envision the joyful reunion that must have been with William taking up his playful ways, chasing Mary Jane --- who, with a new body, could surely give him a good run. 

          William’s granddaughter, Pat Wallace Ivie, remembers her grandfather as a grand ole gentleman with a beautiful head of pure white hair and thick even to the day he passed away and really misses him, even after so many years.  She remembers him as being mischievous with his teasing and his flirting ways and can still see him look at her with a twinkle in his eyes and say “you are such a special little girl”.  As she was only 2 ½ years old then her grandmother passed away, she learned a lot about her and how much her grandfather loved her from the stories he would tell her.  She especially enjoyed sitting on his knee while he would tell her stories and sing to her---in the German language.  He was a very staunch German, strict, a hard worker, very stubborn and yet a grand ole man. 

William C. Sallinger---- 

Born August 4, 1887 in the Prarie Creek Community, 5 1/2 miles North West of Grand Island, Ne.  William was first married to Maggie Benson and to this union was born a son, Myrl Sallinger .Maggie died August 22, 1915 in Grand Island.  William later married Katherine Nagel and moved to Eaton, Co and was seldom seen after that.

 

William Sallinger

William & Maggie Sallinger William's first wife-abt 1913

William and Catharenia Sallinger William's second wife