Sixteen members of the class were sons of West Point graduates. Three were both sons and grandsons of graduates. Alexander P. Cronkhite was the son of Major General Adelbert Cronkhite, from the class of 1882, and the grandson of Brigadier General Alexander C. M. Pennington, Jr., of the class of 1860. Ranked 7th in the class, Cronkhite died in a mysterious shooting accident on 25 October 1918. John F. Conklin was the son of Colonel John Conklin of the class of 1884. His maternal grandfather was Major General William H. French of the class of 1837. Oscar Straub was the son of Colonel Oscar I. Straub of the class of 1887, and the grandson of Brigadier General E. Van A. Andruss, from the class of 1864. In addition, John R. Mendenhall's father John Ross Mendenhall had attended the Academy but dropped out in 1881 without graduating, and his grandfather, Colonel John Mendenhall, was a graduate of the class of 1851. Pearson Menoher was the son of Major General Charles T. Menoher, who was a member of the class of 1886, and served as the first chief of the United States Army Air Service.