William Perry, with his wife, Ida (DeMars), and their children, was the son of early Mounds View Township resident, Charles Perry, who settled the land around Lake Johanna in 1849. Charles, the son of Abraham and Mary Ann Perry, emigrated to America from Switzerland with his parents in 1817 to the Selkirk Colony in Canada and then to Fort Snelling in Saint Paul. Abraham and his family were some of the first settlers in Saint Paul. William operated the Lake Johanna beach in Arden Hills for many years.
William and Ida (DeMars) Perry operated the beach facilities at Lake Johanna in present-day Arden Hills for many years. William was the son of Charles Perry, who came to the Lake Johanna area in 1849, and the grandson of Abraham Perry, one of the first settlers at Fort Snelling and Saint Paul.
Franklin M. Searles, his wife, Sadie, grandson Donald, and son DeWitt, in front of their still-standing home on Fourth Avenue in New Brighton. Searles was a prominent businessman and served on the Town Council for many years. He was known as "Mr. New Brighton" in the 1920s.
William H. and Ottellia (Tillie) Schmalzbauer Devine are shown in this early automobile in New Brighton. Devine was superintendent of the Peoples Coal and Ice Company in New Brighton.
Prominent local businessman Franklin M. Searles, owner of F. M. Searles Lumber, a firm that also served as the Post Office, fuel store, and feed store in New Brighton. Pictured, far right, with children Monna, DeWitt, Isola, Coy, and wife Sadie Alice Sackett Searles. Searles also served on the Village Council and as a delegate to various Republican conventions.
Children of Franklin Searles, New Brighton prominent businessman, are shown: son Coy Searles; daughter Marnie Searles; friend E. Lawrence Haglund; daughter Maude Searles
Sadie and Franklin M. Searles, prominent New Brighton businessman, in front of their 1923 vehicle with their grandchildren, Helen Searles and Donald D. Searles.