Horatio J. Homer
(1848–1923)
He was Boston’s first African-American police officer. He was hired by the Boston Police Department in 1878 and served on the force for 40 years.
Homer married Sophia A. Williams of Haddam, Connecticut; Sophia died in 1902. He married Lydia Spriggs of Deer Creek, Maryland, on November 3, 1903. The couple had two sons, Horatio Jr. and David Lawrence. Homer was a gifted musician, proficient in a wide variety of instruments including the violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, trombone, guitar, mandolin, phonoharp, and piano. He had a remarkable memory and enjoyed studying history, science, poetry, and languages, as well as collecting coins and creating art with canceled postage stamps. He was an active member of the Fraternal Association, a charitable group of local black businessmen and civic leaders.
He died at his home at 82 Humboldt Avenue in Roxbury on January 9, 1923, aged 74. Following a funeral at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, he was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Brighton.
Memorials
Homer was featured in several Boston Daily Globe articles during his lifetime but was largely forgotten by the public after his death. In 2010, his historic role was rediscovered by police archivist Margaret Sullivan and Boston Police Officer Robert Anthony, the Department’s historian. Later that year, police and city officials arranged to have a headstone installed at his grave, Sgt Horatio J. Homer and his wife, Lydia, who, for the past 87 years rested in an unmarked grave and forgotten. They held a memorial service attended by over 400 officers. A plaque in his honor hangs at the Area B-2 police precinct in Roxbury.