Cheney Moses Castle was born April 11, 1829, in Jericho, Chittenden County, Vermont, the son of Deacon Joel Castle and Aurelia Lane.
At the age of 14, Cheney became employed by the country store in Carbridge, Vermont. Then in 1846, he moved to Burlington, Vermont, where he was employed in a hardware store.
Cheney came to Naperville in 1849 and went to work in the store, Willard Scott and Son.
On November 24, 1851, Cheney married Elizabeth Naper, the oldest daughter of Joseph and Almeda Naper. They were married in Naperville and from this union two children were born, Mark Cheney and Alma Aurelia.
In 1855, Cheney entered into a partnership with Horatio G. Loomis in Belvidere, Illinois, to operate a general mercantile and produce business. Yet, the business did not last long, and he returned to Naperville shortly thereafter.
Cheney was elected the first Naperville Village Clerk in 1857 when Naperville was incorporated. He served as DuPage County Clerk from 1861 to 1864. During his term as County Clerk, he drew a map of early Naperville on fine silk parchment. (Much later, the original map was presented to the Nichols Library for public display. Nichols Library opened on Sept. 22, 1898, at 110 S. Washington Street.)
Cheney’s wife, Elizabeth, died December 8, 1868, at which time Bertha Naper, Elizabeth’s younger sister, moved into the Castle household to help raise the children. Cheney married Bertha Naper on October 27, 1870.
Cheney Moses Castle served as a Naperville Village Trustee in 1872 and then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was employed as cashier and bookkeeper of the Minneapolis Harvester Works, one of the largest manufacturers in the Northwest in Minnesota.
Cheney and Bertha had no children. Bertha died in Minneapolis on July 19, 1880.
Cheney returned to Naperville briefly to marry Catharine M. Cunningham, a teacher in the Naperville Academy, on January 25, 1882, and they also had no children.
Back in Minnesota, Cheney and his third wife joined with the First Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis.
Cheney was a member of Euclid Lodge No. 65, A.F. & A.M., and Euclid Chapter No. 13 R.A.M.
He died February 9, 1909, in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Cheney was buried in the Naperville Cemetery beside his first two wives.
