The Mother of ‘The Simpsons’ Creator Matt Groening Was Born in Minnesota

You learn something new every day. I was scrolling through Twitter today and learned that the mother of Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons", was born in Minnesota.

A recent Tweet sharing Matt's mother's obituary from 2013 shared that Margaret Ruth Groening was born in the small town of Chisholm in Northern Minnesota. The obit reads:

Born Margaret Wiggum on March 23rd, 1919 in Chisholm, MN, Margaret's parents Matt and Ingeborg Wiggum met on the boat coming to America from Norway. They settled in Everett, Washington.

Boats from Norway brought a lot of people to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It's too bad Margaret's parents didn't settle here, but if they experienced a winter in northern Minnesota, I get why they left.

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The obituary also revealed the namesakes of a lot of Simpsons characters. Margaret inspired Marge, and her maiden name Wiggum is the namesake of the Springfield police chief. Her husband Homer Groening is the namesake of Marge's husband Homer. The real Homer was the classmate that made Margaret laugh the most, which is how the cartoon versions choose to be together.

Margaret had three daughters, the oldest named Patty who inspired cartoon Marge's sister. The younger girls were Lisa and Maggie who were the inspiration for the cartoon kids. Margaret also had two boys, Mark and Matt.

Chisholm itself is a mining town in St. Louis County. Population back then was booming due to a railroad line linked to Duluth, and 1908 it had more than 6,000 people and 500 buildings. Currently, Chisholm has a population of about 4,976 and is home to the Minnesota Museum of Mining. 

Even though Matt Groening's connection to Minnesota is super small, it's there. And as Minnesotans, we will happily claim ownership and welcome into our homes as one of our own.