The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 363

WILLIAM H. NORMAN.

William H. Norman is a prominent rancher and the president of the Outlook State
Bank. He has resided in Yakima county since 1891 and upon his present ranch near
Outlook since 1893. He was born November 19, 1857, in the farming region which
lies just back of the picturesque sand dunes that skirt the lake in Allegan
county, Michigan, a son of Robert and Mary (Hazelden) Norman, both of whom were
natives of England, where they were reared and married. They came to the United
States in 1852, settling in Michigan, where the father followed the occupation
of farming and where both he and his wife passed away. Her death occurred in
August, 1918, when she had reached the notable age of ninety-four years, but Mr.
Norman died at the age of seventy-six.

William H. Norman acquired a public school education and at the age of
seventeen years began earning his own living, dividing his wages with his
father until he attained his majority. He was the fifth in order of birth in a
family of ten children. When twenty-five years of age he began renting a farm of
one hundred and sixty acres and cultivated that place until the spring of 1891,
when he left the shores of Lake Michigan to make his way to the northwest.
Yakima was his destination and for two years he there resided. In 1893 he
removed onto the ranch which he had purchased soon after his arrival in the
county, situated a mile north of the present site of Outlook. He was among the
first settlers in that part of the county, at which time the entire region was
covered with sagebrush. Mr. Norman cleared his land and developed and improved
his farm, built thereon a fine residence and large barns and is today the owner
of sixty acres of rich, productive and valuable land. He raised hay, corn and
potatoes and carries on general farming and also has a small dairy. He is
recognized as one of the leading ranchers of this section of the state. He is
also identified with banking interests, for he was one of the organizers of the
Outlook State Bank which was established in 1909, when he became the first vice
president. He continued to serve in that capacity until 1911, when he was
elected to the presidency and is now at the head of the institution.

Mr. Norman has been married twice. In 1883 he wedded Myrtis Gatchell, a native
of Michigan and a daughter of William and Anna Gatchell. She passed away
November 2, 1902, and on the 15th of Julie, 1904, Mr. Norman wedded Mrs. Anna
(Witt) Elliott, a daughter of Leonard and Martha Jane (McCann) Witt, both of
whom were natives of Illinois, where her father still resides, but her mother
has passed away. Mrs. Norman was first the wife of John Franklin Elliott, who
was called to his final rest March 6, 1902. By his first marriage Mr. Norman had
three children: Lewis R., an electrician of Seattle who is married and has one
son; Lloyd, who was born in November, 1896, and is now with the United States
marines; and Lyla, living in Seattle. By her first marriage Mrs. Norman had a
son, John Delphos, twenty years of age, who enlisted in the Field Artillery and
received his honorable discharge in February, 1919. He is a graduate of the
Outlook high school and has had one year in the State University, from which
institution he intends to graduate. Mr. and Mrs. Norman have a little adopted
daughter, Mildred Lucille, who was born April 7, 1917, and became a member of
their household on the 26th of the same month, being legally adopted by them on
the 22d of November, 1917. She is a beautiful little child upon whom they are
bestowing all the attention and love of an own daughter.

Mr. Norman gives his political allegiance to the republican party, but his wife
is a believer in democratic principles. He has served for two years on the
school board and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He has
also been president of the local telephone company and is recognized as one of
the alert, energetic and progressive citizens of his community, doing everything
in his power to uphold and develop its interests. His worth as a man and citizen
is widely acknowledged and both he and his wife have a legion of friends in the
community where they have so long lived.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.