Crippled from childhood due to the car accident that killed her parents, Maggie started off as a lonely farm girl who found love with Mickey Horton. After having surgery to heal her paralysis, Maggie and Mickey were married and began their life as one of Salem's most venerable couples. After surviving her own death at the hands of the Salem Stalker, Maggie returned to Salem, won Mickey back, and became something of a mother figure for various Salemites in distress. You could certainly say Maggie is following the matriarchal lead of her mother-in-law Alice.