Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Provenance
Materials Transferred
Biographical/Historical note
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Title: George M. Healy Papers
Date: 1913-1971
Collection Identifier: SFH 367
Creator:
Healy, George M., 1891-1971
Physical Description:
4 flat boxes
(3.0 linear feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Photographs, scrapbooks, and a small amount of personal papers (police-related correspondence, ephemera, periodicals, and
a few loose newsclippings) documenting Healy's SFPD career, from patrolman to Acting Chief of Police; and, to a lesser extent,
his personal life. The collection reflects Healy's interests in crime and police news.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
Access
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], George Healy Papers (SFH 367), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Provenance
Gift of Albert Lawson, son-in-law of George Healy, received Dec. 2000 and June 2001, Accession number 2000-58.
Materials Transferred
Photographs have been transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection. Night stick, badges, and uniform
have been tranfserred to the Realia Collection.
Biographical/Historical note
George M. Healy served in the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) for 43 years, from 1913-1955. He began as a beat officer
in the Central District, joined the Bureau of Inspectors in 1924, then rose through the ranks to become Deputy Chief of Police
in 1953. He was appointed Acting Chief of Police in Nov. 1955 when Chief Michael Gaffey retired. Healy retired after 2-and-a-half
months, on Feb. 1, and was replaced by Chief Frank Ahern. Healy was a member of the Police Widows and Orphans Association,
the Veteran Police Officers Association, the South End Rowing Club, and Castro Parlor 232 of the Native Sons of the Golden
West.
He was Irish-Catholic, married with daughters, and had a brother, William Healy, a police captain who died in 1938.
Scope and Contents
Photographs, scrapbooks, and a small amount of personal papers (police-related correspondence, ephemera, periodicals, and
a few loose newsclippings) documenting Healy's SFPD career and, to a lesser extent, his personal life.
Photographs are mostly 8" x 10" black-and-white prints, with a handful of snapshots and 11"x17" prints depicting Healy in
his various positions as cadet, Detective, Lieutenant, and Acting Chief of Police, both singly and in group portraits with
colleagues, officials, and members of the public; a file of photos for the television show "The Line Up", including shots
of Healy with cast members; and a file of photo postcards of San Inigo Jesuit Retreat in Los Altos in the 1930s-1950s, which
depict group shots of participants. Other occasions and groups represented include Opening Day of the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge, a baseball game between the Police and Fire departments, a Policeman's Ball, the South End Rowing Club, and a
group portrait of officers outside the County Jail, probably in the 1920s.
There are four scrapbooks, probably compiled by Healy, from the 1910s to the 1940s, containing newspaper and magazine clippings
and a lesser amount of documents, correspondence, and ephemera. The earliest (1913-1930s) contains articles about Healy’s
career in the SFPD and the department in general, crime, and a 1922 convention of the International Assoc. of Chiefs of Police.
Many clips are from Douglas 20 Police Journal. Healy hand-copied the city Health, Fire, Police, and Jitney ordinances. Included
are a few of his documents from the Civil Service Commission and Selective Service. Also, this volume was originally used
as the minutes book for Court Washington #37, Foresters of America, c. 1911-1915.
The second scrapbook is devoted to the Nov. 2, 1920 election and charter Amendment 23, a campaign for a salary increase for
policemen. It includes signed endorsements of the proposed amendment, a 9 p. typescript (copy) of a speech/article, campaign
advertisements, and a sampling of print material generated by the campaign. The third scrapbook contains clippings from the
1920s relating to individual crimes and a national crime wave; youth crime; laws and law enforcement; the death penalty; auto
deaths; and the San Francisco Police Department. Many clippings are from out-of-town/out-of-state newspapers.
The fourth scrapbook contains clippings (which are indexed) relating to crime and law enforcement in the San Francisco, Oakland
and Los Angeles; and the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Several stories deal with wartime black-outs and other emergency
measures. Includes Healy’s long-hand notes taken from the vehicle code.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by type: photographs, personal papers, scrapbooks.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Healy, George M., 1891-1971 -- Archives.
San Francisco (Calif.). Police Dept.--Photographs.
San Francisco (Calif.). Police Dept.
Scrapbooks.