Mc Govern Family
In the 1840's
John Mc Govern immigrated to the United States from Ireland with his brothers
Tom and Hugh. He married
Elizabeth Mc Caffery in Ohio and settled in the Territory of Wisconsin, Town of
Portland with his two brothers. There they raised seven children. Their third child, John Jr., is the
father of Van Allen Mc Govern who purchased Mc Govern's from the Chase Lumber
Co. in 1935. For over the past 170 years seven generations of Mc Governs have
been celebrating St. Patrick's Day and you can celebrate with them this year.
There is no other place to be than Mc Govern's on St. Patrick's Day.
Of John and
Elizabeth Mc Govern's seven children, only John Jr. or Jack married and had
children who went on to have families. Frank had two children but had no grand
children. John survived losing his left hand in a dynamite explosion removing
boulders from a field. The family stopped the bleeding using stove ash while
waiting for a doctor to arrive. If John had died, the Mc Govern family linage
from John and Elizabeth would have ended.
John Jr (Jack) Mc
Govern Married Elizabeth Hilker and had four Children. Emma Zeda moved to
Appleton, WI and died of heart disease from pneumonia perhaps brought upon from
ice-skating at the age of 20. Wilbur married Emma Prietz and had two children
Norma and Harold (Red) Mc Govern. Wilbur died after a brief illness at age of
34. However, according to Gerald Mc Govern from his grand mother Elizabeth,
death may have been caused by poisoning. Ruth moved to New York City, married
Orville Smith who work as a railroad conductor, and lived in the Bronx. Orville
fell on hard times and the youngest sibling Van Allen brought Ruth and Orville
back to Wisconsin. Al Mc Govern then leased his first bar in Madison on Atwood
Avenue.
Allen
married Lucelia Blaska and had four children Gerald, Wayne, John, and Jeannette.
Al was a successful wildcat beer bootlegger during prohibition. He purchased two
more 80 acre farms next to the original homestead. Orville operated a bar Allen
leased on Atwood Avenue. Allen then bought the Tar Paper Shack Bar leased by
Hienie and Dick Nordness Sr.
in Sun Prairie from the Chase Lumber Co. and had Orville manage it. Orvile Smith
called it Smitty’s High Life Garden Bar. Allen owned a Miller beer
distributorship after prohibition given to him by Harry John of the Miller
Brewing family. Smitty’s was nicknamed the Bloody Dagger Bar because of the number of
fights occurring between the locals and those from surrounding communities and
Native Americans. When WWII started Orvillie and his family moved back to New
York to work for Pullman in the railroad industry. Jeannette
moved to California and the three sons fought in WWII.
Allen then had Ross (Woody) Woodhead from Springfield manage the bar and
it become known as Woody’s Bar.
Allen
also owned a bar in Portland called Mc Govern’s Inn. After WWII, Jerry along
with the youngest brother John, came to work at Woody’s Bar in Sun Prairie. A
year later it was renamed Mc Govern’s Club. Wayne worked for the Schroeder
Funeral Home for a short time and then ran Mc Govern’s Inn in Portland along
with his wife Marge. Later Wayne and his family left Portland to move to Sun
Prairie and help Jerry run Mc Govern’s Club. A lilac tree was transplanted on
the east side of the bar from the original homestead and still remains there. Mc Govern’s Inn was then ran
for years by Van Allen’s nephew Harold (Red) Mc Govern and has remained
operating under various names. John married Joyce Strasburg and went to work
managing a bowling ally across the street from Mc Govern’s owned by his
in-laws. After a fire destroyed the bowling alley, John worked for the Strasburg
Gas Co. Wayne and Jerry then ran Mc Govern’s along with their
children and grandchildren. Today, four generations of Mc Governs have run Mc
Govern’s Club and Restaurant.
Click the
address below for MapPoint directions
820 West Main Street,
Sun Prairie WI 53590
608-837-7321
800-837-7321
Fax 608-825-3800
email:
mcgovern@merr.com