Leland Stanford Straw Sr

  General Notes:

Research of Naideen Straw Martsfield

wedding photo courtesy of gpcarlson1 on www.ancestry.com

SSDI

Ellis Island Passenger records
First Name:LelandLast Name:StrawEthnicity:U.S.A.Last Place of Residence:Plainfield, Wis.Date of Arrival:Feb 25, 1922Age at Arrival: 10y Gender: M Marital Status: S Ship of Travel:AquitaniaPort of Departure:SouthamptonManifest Line Number:0013


This listing includes professional biographies of persons who are or have been associated with music in the Seventh-day Adventist church.
Leland Stanford Straw born 1911-
Leland Straw was one of four children born to Estelle Murphy and Walter Edmond Straw. His father graduated from Emmanuel Missionary College, now Andrews University, in 1910, the year before he was born. As a consequence, Leland's early life was spent in many different places as his father pursued a career as teacher, builder, academy administrator, pastor, and missionary to Africa, where he was the first president of the Zambesi Union.
In the decade following their return from Africa in 1924, the family moved several times, living in Colorado, Texas, Indiana, and Tennessee before settling in Berrien Springs, Michigan, in 1933 where the father taught in the theology department for fifteen years, at one point serving as head of the department. After leaving EMC, he served as president of Madison College, a self-supporting SDA school. He was an accomplished cornet player and early in his career, when teaching or serving as principal, always started a band program at that school.
Leland and a sister, Sylvia, would be active in music throughout their lives. Their musical talent came not only from their father's side of the family but from their mother as well. A number of persons in their mother's family were poets, taking after their mother, Rose, who was a natural poet. Also, an innate singing and keyboard ability existed in that side of the family.
Leland married Alice Goodge in 1933, the year he graduated from George Peabody College for Teachers. They were both talented singers and pianists and formed a duo piano team that performed frequently to acclaim when they were students at GPCT. During the first seven years of their marriage they taught at Madison College. They left in 1940 to establish, with the Goodge family, Little Creek Academy, a self-supporting school located near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Because of the founders' talents, training, and interests in music, and with Leland serving as principal and one of the music teachers, music was an important part of the program at LCA and students enjoyed a variety of experiences. Both Leland and Alice would spend the rest of their lives working at LCA. Following their retirement, the school was renamed Heritage Academy and relocated to Cookeville, Tennessee where it still continues. The Straws now reside where Little Creek Academy was located, near Knoxville.

Research of Gregg Byers on rootsweb:
After their marriage Leland and Alice spent some time with the College at Madison in the field of Music. Being interested in the Self-Supporting work, they started what is now the Little Creek School and Hospital located out of Concord, Tennessee. Leland is the Principal and Alice his very able Assistant.

Miscellaneous Knox County, Tennessee Obituaries
May 12, 1997,
Funeral service 8 p.m. Friday at Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel with Elder George Sharpe and Professor Leland Straw officiating.


STRAW Sr., Leland Stanford, age 95, of West Knoxville, died peacefully Monday, Feb. 5, 2007, after a brief illness. He and his wife, Alice, moved to Knoxville in 1940 where he founded the Little Creek Sanitarium and School. He was a member of Grace Seventh-day Adventist Church. He served as president of Little Creek Sanitarium from 1940 until his retirement in 1984, he continued teaching for another 10 years. Mr. Straw was a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, where he played the violin. He became a member of the Kiwanis Club of West Knoxville in 1964. Mr. Straw was preceded in death by his parents: Elder Walter E. Straw and Laura Estella Murphy Straw; brother: Ronald W. Straw, sister: Sylvia Straw-Mitzelfelt and Mignon R. Straw-Smith. Leland is survived by his wife of 74 years, Alice Goodge Straw; sons and daughters-in-law: L. Stanford Straw Jr. and Janet Straw of Knoxville, and Kenneth E. Straw and wife, Sharon, of Berrien Springs, Mich.; grandchildren: Deborah Straw-Tait, Cynthia Straw-Mitchell, Heidi M. Straw and Kristi E. Straw; great-grandchildren: Brandon, Sheena and Christina Tait, Amanda and Dallas Mitchell and Nicholas Straw. A funeral service was held Friday at Little Creek Sanitarium Chapel with Pastor Rick Greve officiating. Interment followed at Highland Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Little Creek Sanitarium, 1811 Little Creek Lane, Knoxville, TN 37922. The family received friends Thursday at Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel. www.rosemortuary.com

Leland married Alice Lorraine Goodge, daughter of Samuel Bayard Goodge and Clara Davenport, on 3 Sep 1933 in Madison, TN. (Alice Lorraine Goodge was born on 15 Nov 1913 in Evansville, IN, died on 10 Oct 2010 in Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee and was buried in Highland Memorial Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee.)