Homer Family History

Homer Family History by Rachel Maretta Homer Crockett

The central figure and the “Father Homer” of this particular history of the Homer family is my father, Russell King Homer, who was born in Onondaga County, New York, on July 15, 1815, and was a prominent figure among the early pioneers of Utah. In accordance with the tenets of his Church and with the approval of its Authorities, he married four wives who became the mothers of 24 children, who in turn had 108 grandchildren.^*These are the nucleus of the “Homer clan” who are directly concerned with this history.

*Note: should read 138 grandchildren. (Correction by “Montana” Will Homer.)

Father was one of those rugged pioneers of the West in whose personality was molded the pioneer, the empire builder, the community leader, the churchman, and the family man; a great character of a past generation who, from our viewpoint, stands out in bold relief by contrast with the people of today. His devotion to his family, the great love, affection, and concern he felt for each member of it has been a great influence with them in developing a desire to preserve family unity.

We have met in family reunions for forty years, but the family has become so numerous that we are now very much scattered. It seems appropriate to publish this history that we may instill and preserve in the members of his family something of the family spirit and traditions. A more complete picture of “Father Homer,” his character and achievements, and of each of his children will appear hereafter in this history. But before dealing with individuals, let us look as completely as we can into the origin and history of the Homer name and family.

It is easily understood that the tracing of the origin of families and names always leads one into very obscure and uncertain facts and circumstances. There are almost an innumerable number of ways that names actually originated, and a like amount of theories concerning them. Different authorities have different ideas as to the manner and time of the development and the use of names. It is most probable that names were first applied to individuals because of personal characteristics such as stature, complexion, hair and eye color, marks or scars, manner of speech, or other personal qualities. Further development in the use of names came about because of the relationship to other individuals, the locality a person lived in, the occupation followed, and other similar means of identification. Later on, certain groups, clans, or families were all known by one common name, and an additional identifying name was given to certain individuals. This common name is the basis for the family or surname.

While the use of surnames developed on the continent much earlier, they did not come into general use in England until the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. As is the case with all surnames, there are several theories concerning the origin of the name “Homer.” It came to America from England, but we are certain that it originated in a different form on the continent of Europe. One theory is that it originally was the Norse “helmet maker,” indicating one who worked or had something to do with the fabricating of helmets. Under this theory, it is supposed that someone bearing that name came to northern France in one of the Vikings and settled there at least as early as 800 A.D. Several authorities indicated that the name in its ancient form seems to have meant “a low island” or “a low place near water” or “water by a mountain.”

The first that is definitely known of the use of the name or names from which it originated is in France or Germany. In old German, the name or its forerunner was “Helm” or “Helmet”; in old French, it was “Healme.” Another form of the name “De Holmere” was in use in Normandy before the Norman Conquest. The exact facts concerning the development and transition of the name through various forms to that of the present, if there was such a process, is not known. An Anglo-French form of the same name was “Heaumere”; an English variation of the name is

“Holmer.”

In the year 1066, when William of Normandy sailed to invade and conquer England, one De Holmere went with him and fought at the Battle of Hastings, so thus was in favor with William when he established himself as King of England and De Holmere was retained at court*. After that time, people of that name, with slight variations in spelling, appeared in different shires of the country. They are found in the records of the shires of Worcester, Somerset, Suffolk, Manchester, and Stafford. It is also noticeable that this family carried about the same given names wherever they are found. Common names among the men were Humphrey, Humphila, Kellem, mixed in with the more familiar ones of Richard, William, George, Anthony, and Robert.

* Note: I have found no evidence to substantiate this claim. – Editor

Among the old court records of the county of Suffolk for the year 1276, the following is recorded: Robert Holemere and his wife Lettuce brought court action to evict a tenant from their property because of non-payment of rent.

In the year 1338, the reigning monarch, Henry III*, named one Thomas De Homer a baron and gave him a grant of land in Staffordshire near the town of Rolley Regis, Parish of Sedgley. This endowment was for long and continued service at court of said Thomas De Homer and his forebears. He built a manor house there called “Ettings Hall,” and established himself and family among the landed gentry. He was a member of the church at Sedgley where he built a family pew surmounted by a crest and coat-of-arms which stood intact for six hundred years.

*Note: The statement that “Henry III” made Thomas De Homer a baron in 1338 is almost certainly incorrect, because Henry III died in 1272. England’s king in 1338 was Edward III.

Being the owner of a fine estate, he led the life of a country gentleman, bred fine horses and hounds, and followed the chase. He was called “Thomas De Homer, Esquire.” The prefix “De” indicated the French origin of the name, but it had no meaning in English. It was later dropped and the name has for many generations past been spelled “Homer.” The family of Thomas De Homer and his descendants lived at Ettings Hall for many generations. It was passed from father to son. The records concerning this family are not entirely complete, but, through records of births, christenings, marriages, and deaths, it is clear that the family continued there for many generations. When Captain John Homer, who first came to America left there in 1692, the manor house and the old church were still standing, and it is known that they stood for 200 years after that but have since fallen into decay. It is in this lineage that we are able to trace our most remote direct ancestor. This was Richard Homer who was no doubt a direct descendant of the Thomas De Homer above referred to, but we are unable to definitely trace the lineage beyond him.

This Richard Homer^[1], our direct ancestor, was born at Ettings Hall in March, 1540, and he married Margaret Wright of Sedgley, in the church at Sedgley in March of 1565. The lived at Ettings Hall and reared a family of six sons and three daughters.

While under the laws of England the estate should have passed to the eldest son, from the records available, this does not appear to have been the case in all instances. There are a number of circumstances in which the estate would not have passed to the oldest son. Upon the death of this particular Richard Homer, his fourth child, Richard Homer, Jr., inherited the estate from his father. He married and had a family of five sons; his third son, Edward, who was born at the manor about the year 1600, inherited the estate from him. Edward married Elizabeth Wilkes of Sedgley. They also lived at Ettings Hall and had a family of seven sons. No mention is made of any daughters in either of these families.

The eldest son of Edward and Elizabeth Wilkes, Edward Homer Jr., succeeded to the estate. He married Anne Gibbons. They had a family of five sons and three daughters. He later also married a Mrs. Jane Homer, who gave birth to three sons.

John, the fourth child of Edward, Jr., and Anne Gibbons, was born March 20, 1665, at Ettings Hall. He is of special interest to us because he was the first Homer to come to America. He went to sea at a very early age, and at the age of 27 was master of his own merchant ship. Early in the year 1692, he sailed from Bristol, England, bound for Boston with his own ship and his own cargo.

At this point, it might be well to note something concerning the family characteristics as revealed by the meager records. As has been the rule in times past, very little has been said about the women. The men, in general, have borne a strong resemblance to each other in character and appearance. They have been tall, well-built men with fair hair, blue eyes, and of rather prominent nose. A strong trait of character has been a love of the sea and adventure. They have been noted for hospitality and charity, and have taken an honest pride in fair dealing and looking out for the “underdog.” They have taken pride in maintaining respectable families in the communities in which they lived, and to have been leaders in social and civic affairs.

The John Homer who brought his ship and cargo to Boston in 1692, was known as “Captain Homer.” After he had disposed of his cargo, he shopped around for a load to take back to Bristol. The New World got into his blood, and he decided that thereafter he would make his home and headquarters in Boston.

He had brought with him from England the crest and coat-of-arms that had been used by the family ever since the time of Thomas De Homer, the first Baron of Ettings Hall.

On July 13, 1693, he was married to Marjorie Stevens of Boston. They built a mansion on Beacon Heights, and called it, “The Homer House.” It was still standing and still called by that name in the year 1890, though it had passed out of the Homer family.

This couple were the parents of a large family. Several of the sons were very enterprising and took an active part in building up the country. Robert took part in making the first pottery ware made in this country. Another son, Captain Michael Homer, commanded the first ship that carried goods from Boston to Honduras in Central America. The second son of this family, Benjamin Homer, was our direct ancestor. He first went to sea, but later got married and established himself as a merchant tailor in Boston, specializing in clothing for sea-faring men. This Benjamin Homer was married in 1721 to Elizabeth Crowell of Boston, and they became the parents of six sons and two daughters. Two of their sons went to Maine, and settled on the Penobscot River at a place called “Bucksport” where they lived and prospered and left a large posterity among whom are Winslow Homer*, the artist, and Anne Homer Warner, the writer. Two other sons of this Benjamin Homer joined the United Empire Loyalists and went to Nova Scotia and settled there, while still two others, Benjamin Jr. and Thomas, followed the sea and became sea captains. The latter, Captain Thomas Homer, was born in Boston, March 31, 1736, and was the next in line of our direct ancestry.

(*Note: Winslow Homer was the son of Charles Savage Homer who was the son of Eleazer Homer who was the son of Jacob Homer who was the son of Michael Homer mentioned above.)

In the year 1763, he gave up sea roving and settled down as a merchant tailor in East Dennis, just outside of Boston. He had married Elizabeth Sears. They had a family of six sons and four daughters, three of the sons were lost at sea in young manhood before marriage, and three of them were married and had families. Thomas’ brother Stephen married into a family by the name of Chapman, and his brother William married Experience Reid. They both had large families. The third remaining brother, Benjamin Cobb Homer, was my grandfather. He was born on June 24, 1777, and began going to sea when he was a mere boy, but was obliged to quit on account of his health; so he went to the western part of the State of New York, to take up farming. There he met and married Anna Warner of Erie, New York. Her great grandmother was a princess of the Cherokee Indian nation, so Anna Warner had one-eighth Indian blood*, a fact of which father Homer was very proud. They were married and settled on a piece of timber land in Onondaga County, New York.

*Note: Concerning Anna Warner’s Indian Ancestry: Present research (May 1976) has not proven any of Anna Warner’s great grandmothers to be either Indians or of Indian Descent. The family is proud of the Indian tradition, but records do not substantiate the tradition at this time. The details of this problem with be presented in Volume 2, Russell King Homer Family’s Ancestral History.

[1] The original family history layout inadvertently skips a generation here. The Richard mentioned in the passage—who married Margaret Wright—is actually Richard Holmer Jr. However, he is not our most direct ancestor in the line connecting to Captain John Homer. That distinction belongs to his father, Richard Holmer Sr. (b. 1518, Wolverhampton), and his mother, Mary Jane Turner. This makes the younger Richard described in the text a great-uncle in our lineage rather than a direct great-grandfather.