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

Suicide By Taking Rat Poison

Monday afternoon about 4 o’clock Mrs. Annie Schwartz, wife of John Schwartz, a farmer residing 4 miles west of this city (darlington), while in an insaine condition. took “Rough on Rats”, from the effects of which she died at 2 o’clock Tuesday Morning.

The Railroad

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

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)

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.

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 ……..

California 1982

Spring of 1982 a plan was hatched at Rusty’s Bar in Middleton WI over 20 cent taps by Tim Gavigan and Rick Smith. They decided to drive to California in a van to Visit a hockey mate, Chris Eddy.

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.

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)

Found Frozen Stiff in a Field

William Gavigan of the township of Adams perished with Monday night’s storm. He was found yesterday afternoon frozen stiff in a field with nothing but his boots protruding from the snow.

Wagon Accident

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

5 Gavigan’s go off to War

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

Distressing Suicide: Madison Woman Drowns Herself in a Well

Yesterday afternoon Mrs. Johanna Janeck, a German woman some 85 years old, wife of Mr. Gustav Janeck, for more than a dozen years employed in Mr. Darwin Clark’s Cabinet and Furniture establishment, and for some time foreman of the shop, went to visit Mrs. Lang, who lives in the first ward, about a block south of Nolden’s Hall, near the edge of the flat north of the depot.

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.

Accident at Lake Fatal

Merle [Merrill] McGilligan, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. T.H. [Thomas & Zula Hall] McGilligan, of Algona, former residents of this city, died yesterday at 6:30 p.m. at the Mercy hospital in Mason City.

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

Those That served

Upcoming Birthdays

Catherine Ann ARTHUR	24 SEP
Walter J GAVIGAN	24 SEP
Ida May LUND	24 SEP
Patricia RUPP	24 SEP
Anna HESSMAN	25 SEP
Johanna Susanna JANECK	25 SEP
Josephine MULLEN	25 SEP
Fred Conroy BILLS	25 SEP
Phillip Dale GAVIGAN	26 SEP
Connie Jean STANLEY	26 SEP
Thomas Fitz-Christopher PLUNKETT	27 SEP
George Gardiner DODGE	27 SEP

Upcoming Anniversaries

Edmund Theodore KUBIAK and Mary Elizabeth "Betty" DOCHNAHL	25 SEP
Frank LITTLE and Katherine Irene DORAN	26 SEP
Bryan RANDELL and Heidi Lissette WILSON	26 SEP
Martin Vincent CROWLEY and Loreto Marie WAGNER	28 SEP
Thomas Sam GAROFOLO and Betty Jean HOMMERSTAD	30 SEP
Harry Dennis HAYES and Mary Agnes MCGILLIGAN	10 OCT
Milan Leroy HOLTON and Ruth Annette DORAN	13 OCT

In Memoriam

Michael BRENNAN	24 SEP 1853
Michael COLLENTINE	24 SEP 1870
Bridget CONNERY	24 SEP 1900
Catherine DUNLAVY	24 SEP 2015
Baby MCDERMOTT	25 SEP 1901
Hanora FLANAGAN	25 SEP 1943
Josephine MULLEN	25 SEP 1965
William Julius DERLETH	25 SEP 1965
Frank Willard MCDERMOTT	25 SEP 1982
Austin John MCDERMOTT	25 SEP 1991
Thomas Sam GAROFOLO	25 SEP 2007
Mary Jane FARMER	25 SEP 2018
Hannah Eliza WARREN	26 SEP 1898
Peter J DOCHNAHL	26 SEP 1933
Harley SCHWARTZ	26 SEP 1970

Michael BRENNAN

Birth: 1800
Death: 24 SEP 1853

Michael COLLENTINE

Birth: 1798
Death: 24 SEP 1870

Bridget CONNERY

Birth: 1830
Death: 24 SEP 1900

Catherine DUNLAVY

Birth: 12 OCT 1922
Death: 24 SEP 2015

Baby MCDERMOTT

Birth: 20 SEP 1901
Death: 25 SEP 1901

Hanora FLANAGAN

Birth: 15 JAN 1860
Death: 25 SEP 1943

Josephine MULLEN

Birth: 25 SEP 1894
Death: 25 SEP 1965

William Julius DERLETH

Birth: 11 MAR 1883
Death: 25 SEP 1965

Frank Willard MCDERMOTT

Birth: 27 APR 1909
Death: 25 SEP 1982

Austin John MCDERMOTT

Birth: 23 APR 1921
Death: 25 SEP 1991

Information about the name Gavigan (Mostly Wisconsin)