Born: c. 1876
Died: October 16, 1934
Married:Mamie E. Donivan (died 1898, age 16), Mrs. May Johnson
Children: Mildred Donivan
Will F. Straight lived at 30 Terrace Street. He was a grocer. On October 16, 1934, he killed his stepson, Dr. Nelson Johnson and Mrs. James W. Moody before taking his own life.
At 43 Broadway sold his groceries the "straight way" and claimed his customers were always satisfied. 1
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, August 22, 1986
When a man's anger rocked an entire community
Saranac Lake's Triple Tragedy
[…]
In the year of 1934, Will Straight was a retired grocer after operating his store on Broadway, across from Dorsey Street, for some 30 years. He was well-known in the community and, according to all reports, he was also well liked.
At the same time, George Downing owned a three-story commercial building just down the street at the corner of Broadway and Woodruff streets. The two men were not only business neighbors, but were frequent hunting partners as well. The pair hunted together on that fateful day of Oct. 16th, 1934.
Dr. Nelson Johnson lived in a fine combination home and dental office at the River Street end of St. Bernard Street, just a stone's throw from where Brown had shot Berkeley. He was Will Straight's stepson. Johnson was prominent in the village; he had a lucrative practice, a beautiful wife, the very latest automobile, and was an ardent golfer. He had everything to live for!
Mrs. James Moody lived with her husband at 103 River Street next to the old State Armory. She owned several parcels of real estate in the village and held mortgages on other properties. It was alleged that one such mortgage was on Straight's home. She had an invalid sister and had employed Mrs. Straight to care for her. She also displayed a strong dislike for Mr. Straight for some unknown reason.
On that afternoon of October 16th, Dr. and Mrs. Johnson were entertaining with a cocktail party at their home. Among the guests were: Henry Haines, owner of the Whiteface Inn in Lake Placid; Mrs. George Townsend, of Upper St. Regis Lake; and Aaron Carpenter, of the Hotel Saranac. At precisely 6:20 p.m. the conviviality was shattered by a shotgun blast through the glass of a window. Dr. Johnson, who had been talking to Haines, fell to the floor. Dr. Welles was summoned immediately but Johnson had expired.
After firing the shot, Will Straight placed the shotgun in his car and drove to 103 River Street. As fate would have it, Mrs. Moody was also next to a window. She was seated in her rocking chair reading the newspaper when the shotgun roared again and Mrs. Moody fell dead. Straight then went to his car which was parked in a driveway at the rear of the house. He climbed into the rear seat where he traded the 12 gauge shotgun for a .35-caliber rifle. Placing the muzzle of the gun in his mouth, he pulled the trigger.
Naturally this double murder and suicide shocked the entire village and the burning question in everyone's mind was, of course, what brought it on. At the investigation George Downing testified that Will Straight seemed perfectly normal during the hunt earlier in the day and gave no indication of any sinister intentions. He did state that for some time there had existed bad feelings between Straight and his stepson. Straight had loaned money to Johnson to finance his education and now that the dentist was well off, he expected to be repaid. He currently was in need of cash and was dunning Dr. Johnson for repayment of the loan. Johnson flatly refused. In fact, during the cocktail party, he had mentioned to Henry Haines that Straight asked to see him that very afternoon but was told to stay away. Mrs. Straight apparently sided with her son which caused a certain amount of marital strife and added to Straight's hostility. Mrs. Moody was evidently encouraging Mrs. Straight to evict her husband from their Terrace Street home since the house was in Mrs. Straight's name: This intervention added fuel to the fire and no doubt triggered the fatal visit to the Moody residence on that evening.
The final analysis which resulted from the investigation showed that Straight was in need of money and that he felt very strongly that Johnson could well afford to repay the loan. When his stepson shunned him completely, a strong resentment had built up-which undoubtedly culminated in the violent events of that Tuesday afternoon. Although Downing's statement at the hearing claimed that Straight's manner was completely normal during their hunt, it can be assumed that he probably harbored deeply troubled thoughts. It could very well be that as he sat on his watchground in the woods his mind concentrated on an entirely different quarry.
A sad sequel to the tragedy appeared in the Enterprise on the anniversary of the unhappy date:
IN MEMORIAM
STRAIGHT, W. F—IN LOVING memory of my father who passed away one year ago, October 16, 1934.
While you, dear Father, rest and sleep, your loving memory, I'll always keep. Your loving Daughter
Lake Placid News, October 19, 1934
WILLIAM STRAIGHT NATIVE OF JAY
William F. Straight. 58, [sic] retired Saranac Lake grocer, who shot and killed his stepson, Dr. Nelson Johnson, and Mrs. James W. Moody Tuesday night, and then took his own life, had lived in Saranac Lake for the last 35 years.
The deceased was born in Jay and went to Saranac Lake when about 23 years of age. He entered the grocery business with the late John Torrence. Their store was located at 43 Broadway.
Conducting the business with Mr. Torrence until 1910 Mr. Straight then purchased the store. He ran it until about 1920, when he retired.
Since that time Mr. Straight had worked at no regular trade. He was a veteran woodsman and spent much of his time in the woods hunting and fishing. Residents remarked on his ability as a crack shot with either a rifle or shotgun.
He had long been active in the order of Masons.
He had been married twice. One daughter, Mildred, who is believed to be living near Keeseville, was his only child. Following the death of the first Mrs. Straight, he married the former Mrs. Mary Johnson, who had been the wife of William Johnson, well-known Saranac Lake figure in the closing days of the last century. Mrs. Straight survives.
Other survivors include two brothers, Henry of Au Sable Forks and Charles of Jay; three half-brothers, David, Walter and Mint, all of Jay.
Unidentified news clipping from FindaGrave
William F. Straight, son of Carlos Henry and Charlotte Kent Straight, was married twice, first to Mamie E. Donivan, with whom he had a daughter, Mildred, and second to Mrs. May Johnson. William entered the grocery business at 43 Broadway, Saranac Lake, New York with John Torrance. He later continued in the business alone until his retirement in 1920. He was a member of the Masons and was a well-respected resident of the village of Saranac Lake. Late in life, William's relationship with his wife and his step-son, Dr. Nelson Johnson, turned bad. Some of this was due to Dr. Johnson refusing to pay William a debt owed for his education. Mrs. Straight served papers to have William evicted from their home, in part claiming that William had been abusive to her. As a result of this unrest, William murdered Dr. Johnson and a Mrs. James W. Moody, who may have been involved with the eviction. William then turned a rifle on himself and committed suicide. William is buried in Central Cemetery in Jay, New York, beside his first wife, Mamie Donivan Straight.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, March 24, 1969
The Year 1907, "Sank Out of Sight- A horse drawing the delivery wagon of W. F. Straight, the Broadway grocer, was being driven along Broadway just north of the bridge on Thursday afternoon when both horse and wagon suddenly dropped almost out of sight. The roadway caved in directly under the rig. The driver and a young woman who was riding with him sprang out of the wagon in great fright. The driver got his horse and wagon out of the hole.
"The cave-in was caused by a leak in the water main which had undermined the ground beneath the roadway until nothing but a thin crust covered the hole. The water company got busy immediately, shut off the water at the nearest gate, which was within a few feet of the leak, and then proceeded to repair the leak. This was caused by an inadequate connection which was made during the cold weather early last spring .
"In shutting off the water the water company's men broke the gate and this also had to be repaired before the water could again be let into the shutoff section."
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Footnotes
1. Adirondack Daily Enterprise, December 26, 1987
