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Naperville
Friday, March 29, 2024

Postmaster, Village Trustee and President, son of Joseph Naper

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Robert Naper was born about 1825 in Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio, the first child of Captain Joseph Naper and Almeda Landon.

He came with his family to Illinois in 1831 when his father settled the town of Naperville along with the families of John Naper, Robert Murray, Harry Wilson, Lyman Butterfield and William Carpenter.

Robert Naper married Amelia B. Morse, daughter of Amasa Morse and Marian Pamelia Ball on May 1, 1854, in Naperville. They became parents of two sons, Joseph Morse and Ralph Robert.

Robert first worked in his father’s store, Naper’s Cash Store, as a merchant.

He later served as the Naperville Postmaster from 1855 to 1858, as Naperville Village Trustee in 1858 and 1867, and as Village President in 1863.

Robert operated the Fitch House, the principal hotel of the City of Aurora at the time of his death.

He became a member of Euclid Lodge No. 65, A.F. & A.M. on April 2, 1867. He had traveled to Denver, Colorado, to improve his health, but without positive effect. Shortly after his return from Colorado, he died June 17, 1873, in Naperville, DuPage County, Illinois. He was buried in the Naperville Cemetery.

The members of Oriflamme Lodge No. 22, Knights of Pythias, performed the funeral ceremony. It was estimated that 500 people came out to pay their respects to the deceased.

Robert’s descendants are the last living heirs from the ancestral line of Joseph Naper.
In fact, Robert’s great granddaughters, Linda, Paula, Jan and Rita, approved the work to correct the date of death on Joseph Naper’s grave marker. Captain Joseph Naper was their great-great-grandfather.

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Tim Ory
Tim Ory
Tim Ory is a fifth-generation Naperville native, descended from Francois Sebastien Ory, who immigrated to America from Alsace Lorraine, France, in 1844. Signing off as "Tim Ory, Historian, Euclid Lodge No. 65 Ancient Free & Accepted Masons," Tim adds that he continues to research the History of the Masonic Lodge and Naperville every day. Contact him at tjory@sbcglobal.net.

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