Marguerite Zeilie was born in 1890 in Downsville, Wisconsin. She married Joseph Murray of Bird Island, Minnesota.
They lived in Minnesota but every Fall he came to North Dakota for the threshing season. The steam rig was left in Barnes county for the winter. Each late summer he would drive out with a team of horses and buggy to get the machine ready for the harvest. He carried oats for his horses in the back of the buggy and would put up his animals in livery barns each night. The trip took a couple of weeks. When threshing season began, Mrs. Murray and the family came by train to Sanborn, North Dakota and did the cooking for the crew in a portable cook car. One summer they were picked up at the depot in an old open car. Grasshoppers were very plentiful and riding in the open car was a juicy affair.
In about 1920 the family moved to the Rogers, North Dakota area and lived on various farms. A fire destroyed the family home in 1922. A bulldog, the family pet who stayed in the house, roused Mrs. Murray during the night with his barking. She got up to let him outside and smelled smoke. She was able to get her three children out before they were harmed, but the house and all its contents were destroyed. Mr. Murray was away at the time. The family lived in the threshing crew cook car for a time. Later they moved into Rogers. Mr. Murray passed away in 1943. She ran a cafe and did housekeeping in the Rogers vicinity. She married Martin Aukland, who was a blacksmith in Valley City and Rogers for many years. He passed away in 1957. She continued to make her home in Rogers until ill health made it difficult to be alone. She now makes her home with her daughter.
Mrs. Aukland is the mother of three children: Everett Murray, killed on the Anzio Beach Head in World War II on May 23, 1944. Angelia, Mrs. Fred Jorissen, Leal, North Dakota. Basil Murray, Petoskey, Michigan. The Rogers school auditorium was dedicated in honor of Everett Murray on August 2, 1944.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 19