Notable Residents
This starter list was taken from the Homer web site: www.homerny.org.
Biographies and more names to come.
Jedediah Barber (1787–1876) – biography and portrait
Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818-1894)
Andrew White (1832-1918)
David Hannum (1832-1892)
The Lincoln Connection
Three residents of Homer had an important connection to President Abraham Lincoln. Martin Sweeney, Town Historian for Homer, has written a wonderful book about these connections: Lincoln’s Gift from Homer, NY: A Painter, An Editor, and A Detective
1 – Francis Bicknell Carpenter, born in Homer in 1830, was an important portrait artist. He painted the First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln. He spent 6 months at the White House and penned the book Six Months in the White House with Abraham Lincoln – available online.
2 – William Osborn Stoddard, born September 24, 1835 at 5 Albany Street, Homer, was assistant personal secretary to President Lincoln.
3 – Eli DeVoe was born in Homer in 1809. The sign marking the site of the log cabin he was born in states “member U.S. secret service, detected and frustrated a plot to kill Lincoln.”