1.  Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths: 1990 (online at www.firefighterlodd.com):

James David Straub

2.  SSDI:  Social Security Death Index (online at RootsWeb.com; with thanks to Mark Holtgrefe for finding the record):

Name	Birth	Death	Last Residence	SSN	Issued	Post-em
J D STRAUB	16 Jan 1957	Mar 1990	(not specified)	510-62-4400	KS	Yes

3a.  United States Board on Geographic Names, Washington, DC. Docket 382 (p. 22), Released 1 Jan 2003 for consideration at the 9 Jan 2003 meeting (online at geonames.usgs.gov):

MISSOURI... Straub Mountain: summit; elevation 411 m (1,350 ft); located 1.6 km (1 mi) SW of Table Rock, 1.7 km (1.2 mi) SE of Table Rock Dam, 8 km (5 mi) SW of Branson; named for James David Straub (d. 1990), a firefighter who died while attempting a rescue at the feature; Taney County, Missouri; Secs 26,27&23, T22N, R22W, Fifth Principal Mer; 36º35’01”N, 93º17’28”W; USGS map – Table Rock Dam 1:24,000; Not: Baird Mountain, Magic Mountain. 1. Proposal: to change a name in commemoration 2. Map: USGS Table Rock Dam 1:24,000 3. Proposer: Dana Aumiller; Branson, MO 4. Administrative area: None 5. Previous BGN Action: None 6. Names associated with feature: GNIS: Baird Mountain (ID 29000731/FID 748641) Local Usage: None found Published: Baird Mountain (USGS 1907, 1921, 1956, 1989; USFS 1988; Ramsay Missouri placename file, 1933; Place Names of Taney County, 1950), Magic Mountain (Ramsay file, 1933) 7. Case Summary: This proposal is to change officially the name of Baird Mountain, a 411 m (1,350 ft) high summit in western Taney County, to Straub Mountain.  The current name has appeared on Federal maps since 1907, and although the exact origin is not known, Robert Ramsay in his 1933 Missouri Place Name file and again in his 1950 article entitled “Place Names of Taney County”, suggested it was named for “old man Baird, a miner who lived in the earliest days of settlement and died at work upon the mountain”.  Ramsay also listed Magic Mountain as a variant name for the feature, but provided no additional information on that name.  The summit lies 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Branson, overlooking the White River and Table Rock Lake, and just outside the boundaries of Table Rock State Park and the Mark Twain National Forest.  The proponent, who serves as the Assistant Fire Chief for the Western Taney County Fire Department, is proposing that Baird Mountain be renamed Straub Mountain in honor of James David Straub, who in 1990, while working as a firefighter, died during a rescue attempt on the summit.  The Park Superintendent of the nearby State Park reports that the summit lies on property that is owned today by Silver Dollar City Properties, Inc., and that it is used for their amphibious vehicle tours.  Prior to World War II, the land was administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which used rock quarried from the summit in the construction of nearby Table Rock Dam.  The dam was completed in 1959, and during the late 1980’s, the land was acquired by the current owners who intended to use it for a theme park.  These plans were never fulfilled.  The Park Superintendent confirmed that Mr. Straub was killed in 1990, “trying to rescue a person or persons climbing illegally on the bluffs above the lake.”  The website of the U.S. Fire Administration includes Mr. Straub’s name in a listing of “1990 Fallen Firefighters Honored at the Tenth Annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service”.  Mr. Straub was also a musician, who in the 1980’s performed in nearby Branson.  The U.S. Forest Service has indicated that it does not need to issue a formal recommendation on this proposal, as the feature lies a few miles outside the National Forest boundary.

3b.  United States Board on Geographic Names, Washington, DC. 662nd Meeting, October 20, 2004. (pp. 7-8):

Change Baird Mountain to Straub Mountain, Missouri (Docket 382)

A motion was made and seconded not to approve the name change, citing the negative recommendations of the Missouri Board on Geographic Names along with an apparent lack of local support for changing a long standing commemorative name. Vote: 10 in favor 0 against 0 abstentions A motion was made and seconded to make Baird Mountain a 2004 BGN decision. Vote: 9 in favor 1 against 0 abstentions The one vote against the motion was cast stating that there is already an implied reaffirmation of the name Baird Mountain, so a BGN decision on the name is not necessary.

4.  Email from Richard Straube, who alerted me to the failure of the motion.

5.  Email from subject's brother, who supplied the names of his parents and grandparents, allowing me to track him back to the immigrant.

6.  Underwood/Wilder GEDCOM and Duckworth GEDCOM (online at GenealogyForum.com).

7.  Archives of the STRAUB mailing list (online at RootsWeb.com).