Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthOctober 6, 1894
Place of BirthKenora, Ontario
CountryCanada
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinPearl Muggaberg (sister), Milo, North Dakota
Service Details
Regimental Number86500
Battalion164th Infantry Regiment
ForceAmerican Expeditionary Forces
Branch41st Infantry Division
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Place of EnlistmentMandan, North Dakota
Date of EnlistmentJune 1, 1917
Age at Enlistment22
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathNovember 20, 1944
Age at Death50
Buried AtFort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
PlotSection A-14, Site 3020

Muggaberg, George Allen

Corporal George Allen Muggaberg enlisted in the U.S. army in June 1917, at age 22. He served in France for almost a year and returned to the U.S. in November 1918.

George was the middle of three sons of William Muggaberg and Louise Tellefson (Telefson) of Dunseith, Rolette County, North Dakota. Dunseith is in the north part of the state, just across the border from Manitoba. Louise was born in what is now Manitoba to Norwegian and Scottish parents. William was likely born in the Northwest Territories or in the Red River Settlement, which became part of Manitoba. His father was from Norway and his mother was Scottish Métis. By 1881 William’s family was living in Rat Portage, Ontario. William and Louise were married in St. Andrews, Manitoba in October 1884 and they also made their home in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora). A son, William Alfred, was born in Rat Portage in 1890 and George followed on 6 October 1894.

When George was about two years old his family moved to North Dakota and settled in Gilbert Township, Rolette County where his father took up farming. In 1907 his grandfather, Julius Muggaberg, died in Kenora and he’s buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery. His obituary mentioned that two of his sons, William and Jack Muggaberg, were living in North Dakota. George’s mother passed away early in 1910 and she’s interred in Riverside Cemetery in Dunseith. When the 1910 U.S. census was taken William was a widower living in Dunseith with his four children: William Alfred, George, Pearl Evelyn (age 9, listed as an adopted daughter) and Arthur Verlin (age 6). Pearl and Arthur were both born in North Dakota. Not long after that William returned to Kenora and sadly he died there on 12 October 1910, at age 48. He’s buried in Lake of the Woods Cemetery along with his parents and other family members.

The U.S. entered the war in April 1917 and George enlisted on 1 June in Mandan, North Dakota. His regimental number was 86500 and he served initially with the North Dakota National Guard. By the time he was sent overseas he had been promoted to Corporal. He sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey on 15 December on the transport ship Leviathan. His unit was Company F, 164th Infantry Regiment in the 41st Division and next of kin was his sister Pearl Muggaberg in Milo, North Dakota. George served overseas for almost a year and at some point suffered a gunshot wound to his right shoulder. He returned to the U.S. on 23 November 1918. When the 1920 U.S. census was taken (in January) he was a patient at U.S. Army General Hospital 28 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was listed as a Corporal in the Infantry. He was honourably discharged at Fort Sheridan on 17 July 1920 with a note that he had a ‘Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability, 35%.’ George’s father came from a large family and several of George’s relatives also served during the war including his uncle Thomas Muggaberg and his cousins Walter Muggaberg, Julius Begg, Duncan Begg, James Begg (died in the war), Louis Lalois and Frederick Lalois.

George was married in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 14 December 1925. His wife, Kathryn Lydia Wolertz, was born in Minneapolis on 11 March 1898, the daughter of Charles and Johanna Wolertz. George and his wife spent several years living in El Dorado, Arkansas where they both worked for the accounting firm of Caddie H. Kinard, George as an accountant and Kathryn as a secretary. By the early 1930s they had returned to Minneapolis and their daughter, Kathryn Joy, was born there in 1933. George worked for the State of Minnesota as an auditor and examiner. The U.S. entered the Second World War in December 1941 and he completed a draft registration card in April 1942. He said he was married, living in Minneapolis, employed by the State of Minnesota and working at the Capitol Building in the neighbouring city of St. Paul.

George passed away on 20 November 1944, at age 50. His funeral was held four days later and he’s buried in a military grave in Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. His daughter was 11 years old at the time and she went on to graduate from Southwest High School and the University of Minnesota. George’s wife Kathryn died on 9 August 1983 and she’s buried beside him in Fort Snelling National Cemetery. His brothers William Alfred (1890-1973) and Arthur Verlin (1903-1992) lived in Kenora and they are interred in Lake of the Woods Cemetery. Their sister Pearl (Mrs. Edson Richard Armstrong) died in 1982 and she’s interred at West Point Cemetery in West Point, California.

By Becky Johnson

Muggaberg-George-Allen-90 Muggaberg-George-Allen-91 Muggaberg-George-Allen-92 Muggaberg-George-Allen-93 Muggaberg-George-Allen-94 Muggaberg-George-Allen-95 Muggaberg-George-Allen-96

Grave marker photos courtesy of Lleeah (#48256348) on findagrave.com.


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