Saleeby Family Papers 1925-2024, undated

The materials in this collection are in English.

Labibee Courie [Khoury] and Rasheed Saleeby, inspired by relatives and hoping to save their sons from service in the Army of the Ottoman Empire, planned to gradually move their family to North Carolina from Souk el Gharb, Syria (modern-day Lebanon) in the early twentieth century. Their eldest son, Gibran (G.R.) moved to North Carolina, planning to establish a family business. After Rasheed's sudden death in 1912, the family abandoned their plan of gradual immigration and left Souk el Gharb to join G.R. In December 1912, Nasry Rasheed “Charlie” Saleeby arrived in the United States with his mother, Labibee Khoury Saleeby, and younger siblings Michael, John, Elijah, George, and Mary. The Saleeby family purchased a house in Wilson, North Carolina and started a candy shop and soda fountain located on Nash Street. Their brother G.R. lived in Goldsboro, where he had married and established a family. He later moved his family to Wilson to join his siblings in their business ventures. They operated a wholesale business called G.R. Saleeby and Bros.

John Rasheed (Richard) Saleeby (February 15, 1896-June 16, 1969) worked at this family business for years until starting a wholesale business that specialized in shipping, with particular emphasis on bananas. In 1925, John returned to Lebanon, where he met and married Helen Massaad. Helen left her mother and brother Elias to immigrate to Wilson, North Carolina. Family members remember Helen as an excellent cook and a lifelong lover of music who sang in the church choir for 59 years. John and Helen had eight children: Frederick John, George John, Wade Samir, Laurence, Mitchell, Ralph, Claudette, and Shirley. During World War II, their four eldest sons served in the United States Armed Services. Frederick John Saleeby (1926-2013) served in the Pacific, where he witnessed the official Japanese surrender. He was a first lieutenant during the Korean War and retired from the Army Reserve as a captain. Frederick married Eileen Patricia "Pat" McKenna, with whom he had five children, in 1951. Wade Samir Saleeby, Sr. (1929-2003), served in the Army from 1946 until his honorable discharge in 1952. He served in the Honor Guard for General Dwight D. Eisenhower and married Kathleen Berry, with whom he had seven children, in 1956. Their youngest daughter, Shirley Libbie Saleeby, married Michael Richard Willett on August 7, 1971. The couple had two children, Nathan and Evan.

This collection contains photographs and images documenting the lives of descendants of Labibee and Rasheed Saleeby after their immigration to North Carolina. Materials added in 2026 consist of photographs and images documenting the life of Helen Massaad Saleeby and her descendants following her immigration to North Carolina in 1925.

This collection is arranged in the order it was received.

The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.

[Identification of item], Saleeby Family Papers, KC 0039, Hoda Z. Nassour and Herbert R. Nassour Jr., MD, Archive of Lebanese Diaspora

KCLDS Archive Reference Book Collection 1895-2023, GR 0001

Edward and Callie Saleeby Papers 2001-2013, KC 0047

Gift of Nathan Willett, 2017 November (Accession No. 2017.018). Additional materials received as a gift of Nathan Willett, 2026 April (Accession 2026.004).

Processed by Khayrallah Center staff. Finding aid content contributed by Claire A. Kempa and updated by Allison Hall, 2023 November. Finding aid created by Allison Hall, 2023 November. Additional materials processed and finding aid updated by Najma Mohamud, June 2026.