Margaret Hall was born on April 18, 1921 in Jones Mill, Alabama as the third child to John Lemuel Bowden and Sarah Wilson Nettles. She had two older siblings: John Wilson "Bubba" Bowden, and Sara Elizabeth "Lib" Bowden. Her father declared, "She's so tiny she could fit in a coffee mug." And, thus the nickname "Mug" was born, too.