3/17/2012:
Congressman Patrick Norton was born on this date in 1876 in Michigan. His family soon moved to Ramsey County in Dakota Territory where he attended country schools. He majored in law at UND and graduated in 1897. Afterward, he returned to Michigan, where he worked as a School Principal. In 1903 he passed the bar exam and took up practice in Devils Lake. In 1905, he took the position of School Superintendent in Ramsey County. He moved to Hettinger two years later and served as prosecuting attorney of Adams County. Norton was appointed North Dakota Secretary of State in 1911, and elected to Congress in 1913. After three terms, he moved to Mandan and took up farming, banking, and returned to law. He married Louise Fitzgerald before moving to Minot, where he passed away in 1953.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
http://genealogytrails.com/ndak/adams/bio.html
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18084642