Dr. David D. Hess

He also served as High Priest of Euclid Chapter No. 13, R.A.M. in 1854 and 1856.

Following is his obituary printed in the Naperville Clarion, April 22, 1885, courtesy of the Naperville Heritage Society.

Dr. David Hess
It is but a few weeks since we were called upon to announce the death of Hon. Lewis Ellsworth, and now again we are compelled to chronicle the departure of another of the early settlers of this village.

Dr. David Hess died at his residence in Naperville on Wednesday, April 15, 1885, at the age of 71 years.

Such is the brief statement of an event that means very much to the sad hearts that mourn the loss of husband and father, and that also has a solemn interest for every citizen of this village and vicinity, as well as for many of those who live in the great busy city so near to us. It is an event which closes the record of a whole manhood's life, and one that has had much to do with the growth and development of the region in which its activities have been expended.

Dr. Hess came to what was then the hamlet around which this village has grown in 1840, a young, active, vigorous, well educated physician, full of hope, and possessed in a large degree of those elements of character which deserve and compel success. He had a large practice in which he was eminently successful. He built the residence on Washington Street about '46. Was married in 1847 to Adela M. Wright, the adopted daughter of Gen. E.B. Bill, and excepting four years of residence in Chicago, has been a resident of this village since his first settlement in the West. He retired from practice as a physician some years prior to 1857, and was engaged in banking in connection with Mr. H.G. Loomis, prosecuting the business with the same care, prudence and energy which were his characteristics, and reaping the harvest of success therein.

In 1857 he removed to Chicago and took the superintendence of the extended business of the Illinois Stone Company, a corporation in which he was a large stockholder, and has always held some official position. His four years residence in Chicago and active connection with a business so closely associated with building interests, will readily suggest the extent of his acquaintance in the city, and the circle to which the news of his death will have a painful interest.

He built, in connection with another gentleman, the business building at the corner of Wabash Avenue and Monroe Street, in which the well known music store of Root & Sons is located.

He returned to Naperville in 1861, purchasing something over three hundred acres of farming land upon the river just west of the village, which he has improved and cared for until it is one of the model farms of this whole section.

Since the close of the war he has erected upon Jefferson Avenue, in the eastern part of the village a solid, substantial and elegant brick residence which will stand as a monument to his memory long after we shall have joined him in the sleep of the grave. Much of his time of late years has been given to beautifying the premises surrounding his home, striving to make its outward appearance correspond with the culture, refinement and domestic happiness that made the interior a lovely and charming home.

Such is but a glance at the record that has closed. The details must be left for suggestion by the minds whose memories are stirred by the brief outline.

He was an active helper in the work that gave to this village the credit of erecting the first church-spire on the prairies of Northern Illinois. Strictly orthodox in his religious belief, he has been an efficient supporter of religious institutions, not only with his purse, but by personal attendance when in health on the Sabbath exercises of the Congregational church, of which his wife was a member. His personal attentions and contributions to, and interest in the improvements made upon the church property the last year of his life, will long be remembered by those who remain.

He was always ready and willing to assist in anything that would advance the interests of his town, and his generous acts of this kind, entitled him to our remembrance as a man of public spirit. He was no enthusiast, and his conservatism and practical discrimination sometimes gave a wrong impression. But those who knew him well, and who were permitted to look behind the peculiarities that sometimes served as his protection when he desired it, knew what a warm and sympathetic heart he had, and will cherish his memory with respect and esteem.

His traits of character were peculiarly of the class known as manly. He was clear in his judgement, strong in his convictions and firm in his opinions. He admired sincerity, truth and integrity, despised shams, deceit and hypocricy, and hated dishonesty, always upholding the former, and never hesitating to condemn and denounce the latter in unmistakably vigorous terms.

Such is but a brief glance at the life that has closed in our midst. We shall see his familiar form no more upon our streets. We have only his memory left to us, but that is one that does him honor, for it could never be said of any one more truely than of him, that "he was an honest man, the noblest work of God."