Rev. William M. Norment, one of the leading and best known ministers in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was born September 21, 1829, near where Whiteville now stands. His parents were Nathaniel E. and Sarah (Menifee) Norment. The subject of this sketch was raised in the country, receiving a liberal education in the best schools in the community. When sixteen years of age, he took a year’s work at the Cumberland University. At the early age of nineteen, he married Miss Martha B. Miller, born November 6, 1831, in Virginia, and brought her to Hardeman County when a mere child. This union resulted in the birth of twelve children, of whom two sons and five daughters are living. The mother and family are all members of the same denomination of which he is a clergyman. After marriage Mr. Norment settled on a farm. He had devoted considerable time to theological study, and in 1852 entered the ministry, being ordained two years later, in which noble work he has since been engaged for the past thirty-four years with most favorable and satisfactory results, laboring zealously from a sense of duty, always putting aside pecuniary considerations. In connection with his ministerial duties he was interested, for several years previous to the war and immediately afterward, in mercantile business in Whiteville. He has also run a saw-mill for a number of years. He is still engaged to some extent in farming. He owns about 250 acres of valuable land.
Source: “The Goodspeed Publishing Co., History of Tennessee, 1886”