The Linger Family Overview, History and Memorabilia

The following basic genealogical outline was found in The Linger Family History, by Fred J. Linger and Hartzel G. Strader, published by Gateway Press, Inc., 1989.

Where possible, additional information will be pieced into this outline (ongoing project), along with footnoted source(s) or links, if applicable.

Increasingly, and especially as I attempt to write about my mother’s life story, my thoughts turn to those of family systems in a partial attempt to interpret a number of things.

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To write, speak and interpret a number of things I know about my mother’s early life (through what she told me and what others told me) or retroactively re-construct various events she refers to in diaries, or that also occurred years later and have various associated records either left by her or others, I feel it is helpful to me to begin to re-construct some type of context/profile that might aid in giving a glimpse to what happened to my mother that somewhat formed the trajectory of her own life story.

As I begin this section (November 2022) I am especially interested in three segments of my mother’s young life: Her first three years, the immediate time after her mother’s death when she was a high school senior, and the seemingly dreadful actions toward her in April 1946. The three most specific family players (or perhaps representatives of sorts) of the third event are her brothers Robert and Carter, and her sister, Mabel Irene.

Thomas Kennedy

Phillip McNemar Linger (born September 19, 1799), son of Nicholas Linger and Margaret McNemar

married Sarah Cutright (born February 25, 1796)

they bore 6 sons and 6 daughters:

• William Cutright Linger (April 19, 1819 to March 11, 1894)
• Isaac Linger (November 1, 1821 to April 2, 1901)
• Catherine Ann Linger
• Elizabeth Linger
• George Linger
• Margaret Linger
• Mary Linger (twin to Sarah)
• Sarah Linger (twin to Mary)
• Oliver Linger
• Granville Rufus Linger
• Phillip Fairburn Linger
• Betty Linger

William Cutright Linger (born April 19, 1819), son of Phillip Linger and Sarah Cutright

married Hannah L. Taylor (born March 3, 1816)

they bore 4 sons and 5 daughters:

• Perry Hanson Linger
• Martha A. Linger
• Parthenia F. Linger
• Alva Gibson Linger
• Sylvanus Wellington Linger
• Mary Elizabeth Linger
• Phillip Emory Linger
• William Newton Linger
• Lillian Linger

Perry Hanson Linger (“Hans” – born May 10, 1842), son of William Linger and Hannah L. Taylor

married Martha Ann Simons (born February 21, 1845)

they bore 3 sons and 7 daughters:

• Elizabeth Leonora Linger
• Sarah Alice Linger
• Cora Eva Linger
• Florence Linger
• George Nestor Linger
• John Curry Linger
• Robert Wellington Linger
• Mary Frances Linger
• Mandora Arminta Linger
• Causby Gay Linger

John Curry Linger (“John Rock” – born May 8, 1876), son of Perry Linger and Martha Ann Simons.

“…(born on) Linger Run, was like his brother an old time school teacher. He was known by many of the old timers as “John Rock.” Many believe he obtained this nickname from when a boy would throw flat rocks at an angle so as to make them skip on water; others believe it was from being a firm and strict school teacher…They made their home on Pringle Fork, just over the hill from his birthplace on Linger Run, and the next house downstream from the Sylvanus Wellington LINGER house. The house they lived in remains standing (1989( and is surprisingly small to raise a large family. In later years Roy Wellington LINGER lived and died there. Effie died 24 Jan 1941 and John Rock went to lived with his daughters in Frederick, Maryland where he died 26 Feb 1948. Bother are buried in the Reger Chapel Cemetery on Brushy Fork, Upshur County, W.Va.”¹

married Mary Effie Carter (born March 4, 1883)

they bore 6 sons and 4 daughters:

• Ora V. Linger (Talbott), February 14, 1904 to February 5, 1965. Married January 3, 1933. No children.
  • “Ora, the eldest helped raise her nine brothers and sisters.”¹
• Robert Holmes Linger, November 27, 1905 to August 29, 1979; “fall in a bathtub.”¹ Married June 9, 1932. They bore 2 sons.
  • “Robert graduated from W. Va. Wesleyan College in 1932 and taught mathematics and music for 40 years. After retirement he began a nursery of shrubbery and ornamental trees for his son, Tom, when he retired from the Army.”³
• Carter Woods Linger, September 4, 1908 to July 27, 1955. Married January 8, 1935. No children.
  • “They were divorced in 1947 without children. Carter received his B.S. degree at W. Va. Wesleyan in 1931 where he played on the football team. he completed his Master’s degree at W. Va. University and was a teacher teaching mathematics and coaching football. He died as a result of a fall from a porch in Arlington, Virginia. He was W. Va. checker champion in the 1930’s and 1940’s.”⁴
• Mabel Irene Linger, March 4, 1910 to June 16, 1995. Never married. No children.
  • “Attended W. Va. Wesleyan College.”¹
• Helen Nevada Linger, May 17, 1912 to January 14, 1981. Married November 21, 1940. They bore 1 son and 1 daughter.
  • “Helen attended W.Va. Wesleyan College and has been a teacher, a Real Silk representative, and a real estate and insurance agent at Piepgras & Co.”²
• Roderick Benton Linger, February 20, 1914 to (deceased______. Married July 30, 1948. They bore 1 son and 1 daughter.
  • “Roderick graduated from W.Va. University with a bachelors in music and received his Masters in Music from the University of Michigan. He was a high school teacher and band director 1935-1955, later a representative of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. His music specialty is the violin and clarinet.”⁴
• John Paul Linger, May 12, 1916 to (deceased________). Married April 3, 1943. They bore 1 son and 2 daughters.
  • “He entered W. Va. University in 1933 and also attended W. Va. Wesleyan College. After teaching school for several years, he graduated from Wesleyan in 1941 and received his Masters degree from Leland Stanford University in 1949. John entered the U.S. Air Force in 1942, attended the Officer’s School at Miami Beach, Florida, graduated a 2nd Lieutenant in January 1944. Following the war in 1946, he taught at Los Gatos, California and later became District Superintendent of Schools at Acampo, California. Since 1952 he became a representative of The Equitable Life Assurance Society and a real estate broker.”⁵
• Stephen Edward Linger, July 4, 1918 to December 17, 1999. Married (Daisy) Juanita Belle Sayre November 9, 1945. October 6, 1922 to January 8, 2014. They bore 4 sons and 1 daughter.
  • “Stephen graduated with a B.S. degree in agriculture from W.Va. University. He served as 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He is president of the Steve Linger Co., Inc., broker of industrial equipment in Frederick, Maryland.⁵
• Reuben Ovid Linger, May 20, 1920 to February 7, 1993. Married August 11, 1951. They bore 2 sons.
  • “Reuben was a midshipman in World War II. Following his tour of duty he attended Columbia University, and graduated from Michigan State with a B.M. in music. He taught school in California and for a number of years was Band Director at Gilroy High School at Gilroy, CA. He then entered the real estate business known as Linger Ranches.”⁶
• Margaret Ruth Linger, October 21, 1923 to November 29, 2001. Married January 31, 1948.

Margaret Ruth Linger (born October 21, 1923), daughter of John Linger and Mary Effie Carter

married Rodney LaTaine Slifer (born December 20, 1913)

they bore 1 daughter:

• Eileen Kennedy Slifer

Eileen Kennedy Slifer (born May 16, 1963), daughter of Margaret Ruth Linger and Rodney LaTaine Slifer

married James Edward Elfers (born June 4, 1963)

they bore 2 sons:

• Zachary James Elfers (born May 27, 1989)
• Jonathan Rodney Elfers (born January 3, 1994)

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^1-2The Linger Family History; by Fred J. Linger and Hartzel G. Strader; published by Gateway Press, Inc., 1989; pages 136-137.

³The Linger Family History; by Fred J. Linger and Hartzel G. Strader; published by Gateway Press, Inc., 1989; page 137.

⁴The Linger Family History; by Fred J. Linger and Hartzel G. Strader; published by Gateway Press, Inc., 1989; page 138.

⁵The Linger Family History; by Fred J. Linger and Hartzel G. Strader; published by Gateway Press, Inc., 1989; page 139.

⁶The Linger Family History; by Fred J. Linger and Hartzel G. Strader; published by Gateway Press, Inc., 1989; page 140.