Healy, Edwin Ruthven (see 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 served as their studio’s photographers; however, between August 1903 and February 1904, the Healy gallery was managed by William Blodgett Cook( b. 1861), a photographer associated with Woodland and Colusa, California. 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.

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

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Healy, Ada “Addie” Gossage (see 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 served as their studio’s photographers; however, between August 1903 and February 1904, the Healy gallery was managed by William Blodgett Cook( b. 1861), a photographer associated with Woodland and Colusa, California. 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.

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: “E. R. 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

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Hough, Earl Burton

EARL BURTON HOUGH was born in 1878, 1879, or 1880 in Martinez, California, and died in 1976 in Redford, Michigan. As a young man, he worked for the famous San Francisco portrait photographer Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912). In 1900, he married Beatrice Minerva Singleton in San Rafael, California, and they immediately moved to Honolulu, Hawaii.  Hough soon returned to California and, by the end of 1901, was working in Petaluma at the E. R. Healy Ground Floor Gallery. By February 1902, Hough opened his own Petaluma photographic studio, which, according to the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, was “an elaborate affair”.  Additionally, Hough employed the retoucher, Julius Geohner of Chicago, to assist with his work. Hough employed several techniques to attract customers to his studio: vintage photographs from Petaluma’s past with many recognizable “old-timers” were displayed; “new platinum artist proof photos” were offered to each person placing an order; and the city officers were invited to sit for their portraits with the expectation of installing them at City Hall.  Hough’s efforts appear to have been in vain; his Petaluma studio was in business for only five months. 

Petaluma Photographic Studio: The location of Hough’s studio was reported to be in the space formerly occupied by the J. C. Wahlen jewelry store on Main Street in the Phoenix block.  Hough advertised his studio in the Petaluma Argus-Courier from March through May 1902.  Some advertisements reported the address as 835 Main Street, but others reported 823 Main Street. In May 1902, his studio was described as “across the street from the Argus office”.  On May 25, 1902, it was reported that Robert Peterson Dammand (1855-1936) had purchased Hough’s gallery and that Dammand would take possession on the first of  June.

Active in Petaluma: February 1902 to June 1902

Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier: April 17, 1902, p.4; March 17, 1902, p.4; May 25, 1902, p.1. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: January 20, 1902, p.4; January 23, 1902, p.2; February 17, 1902, p.1; March 1, 1902, p.3; March 14, 1902, p.4; April 12, 1902, p.1; April 17, 1902, p.1; May 9, 1902, p.1; May, 26, 1902, p.4; June 25, 1902, p.4. San Francisco Call, June 8, 1900, p. 9.

As of 2022, there are no portraits by Earl Burton Hough in this archive.  

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 served as their studio’s photographers; however, between August 1903 and February 1904, the Healy gallery was managed by William Blodgett Cook( b. 1861), a photographer associated with Woodland and Colusa, California. 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.

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.