John Healy (b. 1805) was a pioneer of Newburgh, Ohio, who operated the town's only general store and was a deacon and clerk of the Miles Avenue Church of Christ, where James A. Garfield was pastor. During the American Civil War Healy's son, John Sullivan (1842-1908), fought in the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, while his other son, Edson E. (1844-1932), worked with the United States Commissary Department. They were both captured at New Creek, West Virginia in 1864 and imprisoned at Castle Thunder in Richmond. They were released in 1865, on exchange, through the efforts of Julia Wheeler who later married John S. Healy. Edson E. Healy married Esther Taylor in 1869. Their three children were John Egbert (Bert), Bruce Zarah, and Cecil Taylor. The Healys remained in the family business until their retirement at the beginning of the twentieth century. The collection consists of family correspondence, seven letters from James A. Garfield to deacon John Healy, Civil War documents, deeds, records from the Miles Avenue Church of Christ, an oversize account book from the Healy store, and miscellaneous newspaper clippings and printed materials.
