Joseph Naper, also known as "Joe Naper" and "Captain Joseph Naper" (1798–1862), was an early

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

pioneer, ship captain,

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

, businessman, surveyor, state militia officer, soldier, politician, and

city planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

. In 1831, Naper and his brother John were credited with founding Naper's Settlement, the oldest Illinois community to be established west of

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...

, now Chicago. Naper's Settlement would be renamed

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

, becoming the oldest town and first

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

, later moved by county vote in 1868 and displaced by Wheaton.

Early life

Joseph Naper was born in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...

and traveled west with his parents during his youth to

Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...

, where he learned to be a ship builder from his father, Robert Naper, of Alwyn, Scotland.https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/22418570/family/pedigree?cfpid=340138207681 In 1809, Joseph Naper's sister Amy Naper married John Murray of Ashtabula, Ohio, who would later become one of the founding settlers of Naperville, Illinois. The Naper family ships traded goods on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

, frequently stopping at Fort Dearborn on Lake Michigan. On an early trip, Naper acquired lots near the fort, as did many of the first settlers to reach the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

port.

Town builder and politician

On a later trip in 1831, on the ''Telegraph'', a ship built by Joseph Naper, he was joined by his brother John Naper. The Naper families and five other families settled in the area, first known as Naper's Settlement, which later would become a part of

DuPage County DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...

. Joseph Naper platted the town of

, surveying the property and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives for the first time in 1836. Here, Naper laid the groundwork and supervised passage of the 1839 bill which separated DuPage County from

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. Joseph Naper also served on the same committee with

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, then a newly elected legislator from the Springfield area.

Military service

Joseph Naper served as an

Illinois Militia In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

captain in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

of 1832 and was one of the many DuPage County men who served in the Mexican War of 1846.

Businessman and village president

In the 1850s, Joseph Naper was one of the founding stockholders for the short-lived "Southwest Plank Road", now

Ogden Avenue Ogden Avenue is a street extending from the Near West Side of Chicago to Montgomery, Illinois. It was named for William B. Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago. The street follows the route of the Southwestern Plank Road, which opened in 1848 acr ...

/ U.S. Route 34, which improved transportation between Aurora, Illinois and Chicago. Another major plank road stockholder was Colonel Julius M. Warren of nearby Warrenville. Joseph Naper returned to the Illinois General Assembly in 1852. His aggressive actions again provided a means for establishing new communities within the state of Illinois. In 1857, Naper became the first village president of Naperville. As many early settlers had done, Naper engaged in a number of trades and businesses as he helped to develop Naperville and Dupage County.

Death

On August 23, 1862, Joseph Naper died in Naperville, Illinois and was buried in Naperville Cemetery.

References

Sources

*Richmond, C.W. and H. F. Valletta. ''A history of the county of DuPage, Illinois''. Chicago: 1857. *Richmond, C.W. ''History of DuPage County, Illinois'', Aurora, IL: Knickerbocker & Hodder, 1877. *Blanchard, Rufus. ''History of DuPage County, Illinois''. Chicago: O.L. Baskin & Company, 1882. *''DuPage Roots''. Wheaton, IL: Du Page County Historical Society, 1985. *Gingold, Katharine Kendzy (2007). Ruth by Lake and Prairie; True Stories of Early Naperville. Gnu Ventures Company. . *Williams, William W. (1878). History of Ashtabula Co., Ohio. William Bros. *Anonymous (1894). Portrait and Biographical Record of Cook and DuPage Counties. Lake City Publishing Company.
Naperville, Illinois History PageA photograph of Capt. Naper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naper, Joseph 1798 births 1862 deaths American shipbuilders American city founders Politicians from Ashtabula, Ohio American people of the Black Hawk War Members of the Illinois House of Representatives History of Naperville, Illinois People from Bennington, Vermont 19th-century American politicians