The Non-Racist Healy Family---This nineteenth-century American, Catholic family gave the world two priests, one bishop, and three nuns and they had all been born as slaves.

In 1818, Michael Morris Healy left Ireland for America and settled in what is today, Macon, Georgia. Through hard work and smart business dealings combined with some “good luck” in the Georgia land lottery, Healy managed to become a successful cotton planter, owning 1500 acres and 49 African slaves. Among them was a 16-year-old girl named Mary Eliza Smith.

Healy fell in love with the young woman, but there was a problem. Michael Healy was a devout, Irish  Catholic and Mary Eliza was a slave. She was mixed race, half African American and half white. Michael Healy decided to take Mary Eliza as his common-law wife. Although their “marriage: was illegal, the couple lived together as any other husband and wife. They would go on to have nine children together.

Under Georgia law, children of slaves and masters were considered enslaved and were prohibited from going to school and being educated. Michael Healy, now a prosperous cotton farmer, decided he would send his children away to school. The children appeared to be white and their father made sure they went to schools that adhered strictly to the Catholic faith. They were baptized and received their sacraments and educations in the north. Their African ancestry was never really noticed.

In 1844, Michael Healy met the Bishop of the Diocese of Boston, John Bernard Fitzpatrick.  The bishop told Michael of the new College of the Holy Cross about to open in Worcester, Massachusetts. He advised him that they were accepting children of grammar school age for the new boarding preparatory school. The man seized the moment.

Michael Healy wasted no time in having his sons, James, 14, Hugh 12, Patrick 10, and Sherwood 8, enrolled. Eventually, all of the boys graduated from Holy Cross College. The fifth son, Michael, who was only six, entered later and he too, graduated from the college. The girls in the family were educated in Catholic convent schools in Montreal, Quebec; Canada.

Meet the Healy Children:

James Augustine Healy (1830-1900) He became a priest and was consecrated the Bishop of Portland, Maine on June 2, 1875. Bishop Healy was the first American with African-American ancestry to serve as a Catholic bishop in the United States.

Patrick Francis Healy (1834-1910) Patrick became a Jesuit and is the first American with African ancestry to earn a Ph.D. In 1874 was named the president of Georgetown University, another first for a person of African descent.

Alexander Sherwood Healy (1836-1875) He too was ordained a priest, received his doctorate at St. Sulpice Seminary in Paris. He became an expert in Gregorian Chant and Canon Law. He died at the age of 39.

Michael Augustine Healy (1838-1904) Michael entered a seminary at the age of 15. However, the priesthood was not his calling. He left after a year and signed on to a clipper ship as a cabin boy. He became an expert seaman and in 1864 joined the Revenue Cutter Service which eventually became the United States Coast Guard. A U.S. Coast Guard research ice-breaker is named in his honor.

Eliza Healy (1846-1919) Eliza took her vows as a nun with the Congregation of Notre Dame and became known as Sister Mary Magdalen.  She became Mother Superior of the convent in Vermont. She is recognized as the first woman of African descent to hold such a position.

Hugh Healy (1832-1853) graduated Holy Cross aspiring to be a businessman. Sadly, he died at the age of 21.

Martha Healy (1840-1920) She entered the convent in 1855 but left in 1863 and moved to Boston. She married an Irish immigrant named Jeremiah Cashman and they had one child.

Josephine Amanda Healy (1849-1883) She became a member of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph. She passed away at the age of 34.

Eugene Healy (1848-1914) He was only two when he was orphaned and never seemed to find his niche in the world.

We should all hope and pray that the Healy family story is taught to all our kids in every school across America. It is truly a magnificent example of NON-racism.

copyright©Larry Peterson 2019