Biography of Moses Norman of Grand Forks North Dakota

Moses Norman, born September 9, 1863, in Henderson, Minnesota, was a prominent businessman in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He moved to Grand Forks in 1882, later establishing an undertaking business in Lakota before returning to Grand Forks in 1901 to run a successful undertaking and furniture business. Active in civic affairs, Norman served on the local school board from 1895 and held leadership positions in the Furniture Dealers Association and the Irish American Club. A Democrat and devout Roman Catholic, he married Ella Clara Lynch in 1886, with whom he had six children.


M Norman
M Norman

Moses Norman is a successful and industrious businessman in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He was born on September 9, 1863, in Henderson, Sibley County, Minnesota. His parents were Nelson and Mary (Riley) Norman, with his father having French lineage and his mother being of Irish descent. Moses Norman can trace his ancestry back to colonial times, with his great-great grandfather having been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and losing his life in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1847, his parents married and relocated from Rome, New York, to Minnesota. Mr. Norman’s father’s sister has served as the Mother Superior of Hotel Dien St. Joseph, a Catholic hospital in Montreal, Canada, for fifty-five years. She is also a grandniece of Mgr. Plessit, the Bishop of Quebec.

Moses received his education in a common school. At the age of nineteen, in 1882, he left home and settled in Grand Forks, where he engaged in farming for about two years. In 1884, he moved to Lakota, Nelson County, where he established an undertaking and funeral director business, which he operated until 1901. At that time, he returned to Grand Forks and founded an undertaking and furniture business, which has been his primary focus ever since.

Throughout his life, Mr. Norman has actively participated in public and civil affairs and has been entrusted with numerous positions of responsibility. He has served continuously on the local school board since 1895, with only four absences from board meetings during that period. He currently holds the position of president in the Furniture Dealers Association of North Dakota and the Irish American Club of Grand Forks. Additionally, he is a member of Grand Forks Lodge No. 255 of the Elks and No. 1260 of the Knights of Columbus. In terms of political affiliation, Moses Norman has consistently aligned himself with the Democratic Party, and his religious beliefs are rooted in the Roman Catholic Church.

On June 2, 1886, Mr. Norman married Miss Ella Clara Lynch, and the wedding ceremony took place at St. Michael’s Church, officiated by Reverend Father Mexter. The couple has six children. Paul V., the oldest, works alongside his father in the family business. Gertrude attends high school and is set to graduate in June 1909. Legare is currently a student at Union Commercial College. Keneth and Lawrence are in the eighth grade at the Wilder School, while Helena, the youngest at six years old, remains at home.

Source

C.F. Cooper & Company, History of the Red River Valley, Past And Present: Including an Account of the Counties, Cities, Towns And Villages of the Valley From the Time of Their First Settlement And Formation, volumes 1-2; Grand Forks: Herald printing company, 1909.

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