Welcome to Gavigan.org

This site was created to facilitate the exchange of information and to help people with the last name Gavigan, and other names, learn more about their history, their roots, & who they are related to

The surname Gavigan”and its more common phonetic variant, Gavigan” is an Anglicized form of the ancient Gaelic name Mag Eachagain, meaning “son of Eachagan.” Originating in Ireland, particularly associated with counties like Roscommon and Westmeath, bearers of this historic name eventually crossed the Atlantic during the waves of Irish emigration in the 19th century, seeking new opportunities in the burgeoning American Midwest.

Our Journey begins with the John Gavigan family. The family supposedly immigrated from Ireland Around 1848. The spent some time in New York then by 1850 they were living in New Jersey. John Sr (age 60) sons Timothy H, John, Patrick, and William, and Daughters Mary Catherine, Marcella, Margaret, Jane were ALL born in Ireland. John Gavigan’s wife Margaret O’Brien died BEFORE they immigrated. By 1855 the Gavigans were in Wisconsin.

Anyone listed in the Genealogy pages NOT named Gavigan or McGilligan are related to a Gavigan or a McGilligan by a marriage or an adoption It’s a very Small World!

There are most likely many errors on this site. If you have corrections or additions use the contact form to let us know

First Flanders Woman in America

There are many mysteries to be solved in the Flanders family history line, and JANE FLANDERS is one of them!

Lake City House / Lake View Hotel / John R McGilligan

John R McGilligan 510 E Wilson Street – Lake City Hotel – Lake View Hotel (Germania House Hotel)

The Democratic Handbook 1898

Published during one of the most racially and politically volatile periods in American history, the Democratic Handbook for 1898 served as a masterclass in propaganda, racial demagoguery, and political strategy.

Wagon Accident

Ida May Slawson Stevens died at age 49 when a wagon she was riding in overturned and she was killed.

Where did the original Statue of Liberty on Lake Mendota end up?

Where did the original Statue of Liberty on Lake Mendota end up? Answer: The Statue of Liberty ended up at the farm of ……..

Hospitality

Gavigan Hotel (Blanchardville WI), John Starry (Higbee Hotel 102 S Iowa St Dodgeville), Edward McGilligan (512 Oak St Arena WI), Doran (512 Oak St), Crowley (512 Oak St), Rupp (Vilas House, Park Hotel), Murphy (Vilas House), John R McGilligan (Lake City Hotel, Lake View Hotel), Trotter, and Williams owned or worked at lodging and/or Dining establishments (Hotels, Resorts, Pool Halls, and Taverns)

Murder in the Hay-field

Mt. Horeb, Wis. –(AP) — Victor R McKay, 38, of Madison, shot and killed Mrs. Ruby Lund Heydon, 25, of Mt. Horeb, and then fatally wounded himself while they sat in a car in a hay-field near here August 17, 1942, a coroner’s jury decided after an inquest yesterday.

Alcohol Issues

We are Irish, what else can we say? Over the years many have fallen into the Alcohol pit. Some crawled their way out, some did not.

Kicked on the Head by a Horse

Edward Roarig, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gus Roarig of Fayette, died April 10th, at Trinity hospital, Milwaukee, where he had been taken for an operation. As was stated in last week’s paper the young man had been working for his uncle, Robert Williams, where he was kicked on the head by a horse.

Hotel Gavigan Blanchardville WI

Thomas Gavigan son of John and Mary (Collentine) Gavigan operated the Gavigan Hotel from 1892- to 1896 at the Corner of Main and Elm in Downtown Blanchardville. Thomas was also on the board of Directors for the Blanchardville Driving Association (racing, training horses)

St. Michael’s Orphanage, La Crosse WI

John (Jack), Beverly, Roy, and Bob all spent time at St Micheals. Bob spent 13 yrs total. He went in at two yrs. Roy told Tim Gavigan in 2024 that John “Jack” Gavigan ran away from the Orphanage. Roy remembers riding in a car with officials to La Crosse.

5 Mabbott’s Fight in the Civil War

Five Mabbott Cousins fought in the Civil War. Two Died and one was dishonorably discharged

The Railroad

Dodgeville, Wisconsin had multiple railroad lines, including the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, the Illinois Central Railroad, and the Freeport, Dodgeville & Northern Railroad.

Higbee Hotel Dodgeville WI – John Starry – 1905

This three-story hotel, which has conducted business as such since 1849, features a rectangular-shaped plan configuration, a cut stone foundation, a combination brick and concrete block exterior and a flat roof. In the early twentieth century the hotel was owned by John Starry, charus phillips (1909-1916)

Tragedy On Lake Monona

On July 26, 1900, Ellen Jane Rupp “Jennie”, Fannie Dunn, and Nellie Dunn were being rowed back to Madison by Alexius Baas at 11 p.m. when their rowboat was struck by one of the lake steamers, the Tonyawatha, and the four were thrown into the water. Ellen Jane “Jennie” Rupp drowned. “Lex,” the oarsman, saved both of the Dunn sisters.

Farm Tragedy

A tragic moment in Time regarding the Stevens family happened in 1936 on the farm of Harry and Jennie Stevens in the Skelton Township of Carlton County MN when Harry Eugene (Gene) Stevens accidentally drove over his brother

Timeline

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Census Records

Today in History

LCprl Jean Pierre Dowling, KIA in Vietnam - USMC

The team moved to 598379 and was going to await the helicopters or until darkness and then move out.

After waiting an hour. the VC opened up on the team again from about 10 feet away. This broke up the team. The initial burst killed LCpl DOWLING. LCpl SOLOVSKOY returned fire and killed two VC
…. Read More here

1983: Madison West Goes 18-2 to Win the State Hockey Championship

Dan Gavigan grandson of Thomas Leo Gavigan was a member of this Team

The only State Hockey Championship in School History!

Grandchildren of Maggie McCue and John Lunda

Kay and Karen Lunda

(Kay) 1972 Winter Olympics – 500 metres in Sapporo, Japan
(Karen) Alternate for the 1976 U.S. team in Innsbruck, Austria

Royal Lineage

Q: Where did the original Statue of Liberty on Lake Mendota end up?

Answer: The Bill Weege farm near Barneveld Wisconsin

Rev. Edward L. Buckner Dies After Being Shot Near His Home

Rev. Edward L. Buckner, of Zalma, died last Friday morning at the Cape hospital where he had been taken for an operation after being shot by an unknown person near his home Thanksgiving morning.
He was but a short distance from his home when the shots were fired at him with a shot gun.

Those That served

Upcoming Birthdays

Charles Edward DODGE	26 AUG
James Eugene STEVENS	26 AUG
John Thomas MABBOTT	27 AUG
Clara Maude BANGLE	27 AUG
Mary Ann MCGILLIGAN	27 AUG
James Henry CROWLEY	27 AUG
Charles Lawrence DORAN	27 AUG
Virginia Catherine LITTLE	27 AUG
Gerald DISRUD	27 AUG
Stephen RASMUSSEN	27 AUG
Terry RASMUSSEN	27 AUG
Susan MANION	27 AUG

Upcoming Anniversaries

Arthur William JANECK and Valeria A O'BRIEN	31 AUG
Gustave Victor FELDT and Geraldine Margaret JANECK	1 SEP
John Daniel RUPP and Mary S QUINN	10 SEP
James Grover HEALY and Ellen CROWLEY	12 SEP
Lewis Merchant MANN and Rose Ann GAVIGAN	13 SEP
Joseph Harold RUPP and Bertha ELBEL	15 SEP
William Anthony MCGILLIGAN and Marion Elizabeth SCHUBERT	15 SEP

In Memoriam

Seba HODGE	26 AUG 1872
Mabel Wilhelminia ALLEN	26 AUG 1986
Albert Martin LUND	27 AUG 1951
Anna Marie PFEIFFER	28 AUG 1938
Merle Gordon HEYDON	28 AUG 1971
Thomas Samuel Rolf GAROFOLO	28 AUG 1996
Joseph H BANGLE	29 AUG 1896
Baby ERICKSON	29 AUG 1905
Grover Cleveland WILLIAMS	29 AUG 1939
Phillip Dale GAVIGAN	29 AUG 2017
Johanna FLANAGAN	3 AUG 1942
Minnie SCHWARTZ	3 AUG 1965
Oliver William "Bill" MORIG	3 AUG 1980
Mark Edward GALWAY	3 AUG 1999
Mary CONWAY	30 AUG 1911

Seba HODGE

Birth: 31 JUL 1796
Death: 26 AUG 1872

Mabel Wilhelminia ALLEN

Birth: 17 MAR 1896
Death: 26 AUG 1986

Albert Martin LUND

Birth: 11 NOV 1881
Death: 27 AUG 1951

Anna Marie PFEIFFER

Birth: 30 AUG 1866
Death: 28 AUG 1938

Merle Gordon HEYDON

Birth: 04 JUN 1909
Death: 28 AUG 1971

Thomas Samuel Rolf GAROFOLO

Birth: 11 NOV 1954
Death: 28 AUG 1996

Joseph H BANGLE

Birth: 29 MAY 1852
Death: 29 AUG 1896

Baby ERICKSON

Birth: 28 AUG 1905
Death: 29 AUG 1905

Grover Cleveland WILLIAMS

Birth: 05 JAN 1886
Death: 29 AUG 1939

Phillip Dale GAVIGAN

Birth: 26 SEP 1934
Death: 29 AUG 2017

Information about the name Gavigan (Mostly Wisconsin)