Healy Ground Floor Gallery

EDWIN RUTHVEN HEALY (b. 1856 Moscow, Iowa; d. Marin County, California 1923) and ADA “ADDIE” V. GOSSAGE HEALY (b. 1860 Petaluma, California; d. Berkeley, California 1923). Edwin and Ada Healy were married, and both were listed in California directories as photographers. It has been assumed they worked together; however, ascertaining their division of labor is problematic. Ada was a native of Petaluma and a daughter of the Petaluma pioneers, Jerome Bonaparte Gossage (1824-1886) and Rachel Ann Henry Gossage (1831-1912). Edwin, a native of Iowa, was listed in 1879 as working in Petaluma as a painter. After their marriage in 1881, Ada and Edwin moved often within California, serially establishing photography studios in Oakland, San Francisco, St. Helena, and Hanford before returning to Petaluma in 1896 to open the “E. R. Healy Ground Floor Gallery” at 816 Main Street. It has been concluded that Edwin and Ada were their studio’s principal photographers; however, they did hire the assistant Earl Burton Hough between the end of 1901 and February 1902 and William Blodgett Cook between August 1903 and February 1904. There is one portrait in this archive taken by Cook at the Healy Gallery. After securing the services of the marketing company, C. W. Mills, the Healy’s sold their gallery in June 1905 to photographer Thorsten Lawson. The Petaluma Morning Courier reported that the E. R. Healy Gallery changed hands and that “Mr. Healy will devote his time to his mining interests.” The 1905 Sonoma County Directory listed Edwin’s occupation as “mining”, and listed Ada as a photographer.

Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, April, 25, 1898, p. 3

While living in Petaluma, Ada and Edwin resided at 785 Keller Street and later at 857 Fifth Street. They lived together in Petaluma for nine years and were active members of the community. Ada was a soloist who participated in many musical presentations and organized and served the local order of the Rathbone Sisters. Edwin was a prominent member of the Order of Pythias and the Brotherhood of American Yeoman. Possibly out of concern for his camera equipment, he spearheaded a successful community project to purchase and operate a sprinkling wagon to control the dust in downtown Petaluma stirred up by traffic on Main Street. Ada and Edwin had four children: Myrtle, Clyde, Ester, and Virgie, their youngest, who died tragically at 15. In March 1906, Ada and Edwin moved to Berkeley, where their daughter, Myrtle, attended university. Both are buried in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park.

Petaluma Photographic Studio: “Healy Ground Floor Gallery” 816 Main Street, and later at 818 Main Street, Petaluma, California

Active in Petaluma: 1896 to June 1905

Bibliography: Palmquist, Peter, E., “Healy, Addie G.,” Shadowcatchers, A Dictionary of Women in California Photography Before 1901, Eureka Printing Co., 1990, pp. 111 -112; Palmquist, Peter E., “Healy, Addie G.”, Shadowcatchers, A Dictionary of Women in California Photography 1900-1920, Eureka Printing Co., 1991, pp. 164-165; Carl Mautz, Biographies of Western Photographers, A Reference Guide to Photographers Working in the 19th Century American West, Expanded and Revised Edition, 2018, p. 134; Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, October 15, 1897, p. 2; April 9, 1898, p. 1; September, 25, 1902, p.1; August 14, 1903, p.4; June 22, 1905, p.1; June 25, 1905, p. 1; March 21, 1906, p.1. Petaluma Argus-Courier, May 25, 1905, p.2; June 30, 1905, p.6; March 9, 1923, p. 3; January 29, 1923, p.5. Woodland Daily Democrat, February 26, 1904; https://digital.sonomalibrary.org/about/photographers

Click on any thumbnail for an enlarged version and additional information.