Homer Eaton was born on November 116, 1834 in Enosburg, Vermont, United States. His father, Rev. Bennett Eaton, a Methodist preacher, was a descendant of Francis Eaton, who came to America in the Mayflower; and his mother, Betsey Maria, daughter of Joel and Hannah (Billings) Webster, was a descendant of John Webster, one of the original proprietors of Hartford, Connecticut, and a colonial governor.
He was educated at Bakersfield Academy, Vermont, and at the Methodist General Biblical Institute, Concord, New Hamshire.
In 1857 he joined the Troy Conference, of which he remained a member until his death. From 1857 to 1889 he was pastor of eleven churches, and served as presiding elder. In 1889 he was made an agent of the Methodist Book Concern in New York, and in 1912, when a new constitution for the Concern was adopted, he was elected general agent, with duties covering the entire field in this country.
He managed the enormous business of the Book Concern with notable sagacity. The extent to which his abilities were valued by his denomination is shown by the fact that he was a member of ten General Conferences, being first elected in 1872, and then continuously from 1880 to 1912.
In 1881 and in 1901 he was delegate to the Ecumenical Methodist Conference in London, and in 1874, fraternal delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Church in Canada. In addition to his other duties he was for seventeen years (1896 - 1913) treasurer of the Board of Foreign Missions. He was also a trustee of Syracuse University and of Drew Theological Seminary.
His death occurred at his home in Madison, New Jearsey, while his wife was reading to him from one of the denominational papers, and he was buried in the Albany (New York) Rural Cemetery.
Eaton 1857 he joined the Troy Conference, of which he remained a member until his death.
Eaton was a rugged Vermonter of massive frame, with a noble head and clean-cut profile, always dignified in his bearing, and possessing a powerful voice.
He had a statesmanlike mind, a large fund of native humor, and though not accustomed to indulge in prolonged debate, he had great capacity for bringing men into line with his purposes.
In 1857, April 28, he married Hannah, daughter of Jacob and Rowena Saxe of Sheldon, Vermont.
