Straight was born on January 31, 1880 in Oswego, New York,[REF] the son of Henry H. Straight (1846-1886) and his wife, née Emma Dickerman (1850-1890), who was born at Beardstown, Illinois and was the daughter of Col. Willard Arms Dickerman (d.
He attended Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey, and in 1897 he enrolled at Cornell University and graduated in 1901 with a degree in architecture.