Ross County OhArchives Photo Place.....Morter House In South Salem April 2, 2009
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ralph W. Cokonougher rcokon@hotmail.com October 31, 2016, 11:35 pm

Source:             Photographed By Ralph W. Cokonougher
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/oh/ross/photos/morterho6810nph.jpg
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	The house in this April 2009 photo is the Morter House in South Salem, 
Ohio.  The woman who originally lived in the house was the half sister of Queen 
Victoria of England, and could have been queen herself, had she not renounced 
her right to the throne to marry a commoner and move to America.  
	The Morter house was built around 1850 by Blythe Jagward Morter.  
Blythe Morter, a commoner and a stone mason, had somehow managed to meet and 
marry a member of the royal house of England - Mary, daughter of the Duke of 
Kent, and granddaughter of King George III.  As a consequence, Mary was forced 
to give up all rights to the throne of England. The results of her act became 
painfully clear a few years later when the then King, William IV, died.  Mary 
would have been next in line to the throne, but since she had married a 
commoner, her younger sister Victoria ascended to the throne instead.  
	Soon after Victoria became Queen, Blythe Morter decided to move to 
America.  He left his wife and children temporarily in England while he went 
ahead to America make a home for them before they too arrived.  He picked South 
Salem, Ohio, for some reason, and in 1850 bought a small lot on Main Street in 
the middle of town.  He then contracted with local carpenters to build a small 
frame home on the lot and wrote to his wife to meet him with the children in 
New York. He then left South Salem while the house was being built, to travel 
to New York to meet her.  
        Unfortunately, the mail was not too reliable in those days, and Mary 
did not get to New York in the time expected.  Blythe became worried and set 
sail for England to go get his family.  In the meantime, his wife Mary finally 
got his letter and set sail for America.  It is very likely that the two passed 
each other on separate ships going separate directions in the middle of the 
Atlantic!  Once in New York, Mary had to take several odd jobs to feed and 
shelter her children and herself while she waited for Blythe to come to her, 
but eventually she and Blythe finally got back together and set off for their 
new home in South Salem, Ohio.  
	Upon arrival in South Salem, to their deep chagrin, Mary and Blythe 
found that their house was still not finished.  The plaster was still wet and 
many windows had not yet been installed.  Having no where else to stay, the 
family moved into the house just as it was.  Unfortunately, Mary was exhausted 
from her long trip over the sea, her long weeks of hard work in New York, and 
the long trip through the wilderness to South Salem.  The unfinished drafty and 
damp house proved to be too much for her.  She soon contracted a bad cold, and 
in her weakened condition, fell prey to tuberculosis.  She died the following 
Spring, and was buried in the South Salem Cemetery.  A grieving Blythe Morter 
farmed his children out to friends and relatives, and then left South Salem.  
He eventually remarried and resettled in Licking County, Ohio, but never 
returned to the house that he had built for Mary.  
	The Morter house went through many owners as the years passed.  Like 
other houses, it was modified, improved, and added onto.  I don't know any 
further history about the house and its other owners until my mother's uncle, 
Harry Hester, purchased the house sometime in the 20th century.  He and his 
wife, my great-aunt Viola Beechler Hester, lived in the Morter house as far 
back as I can remember.  Harry and Viola raised two sons in the Morter house, 
and Harry operated a produce business across the street from the house for many 
years.  Harry took his own life in the house in 1997.   
	A few years after this picture was taken, the Morter house burned to 
the ground.  It has not been replaced.  The Morter house was located at North 
Latitude 39.3365¢ªand West Longitude 83.30832¢ª, or in old measurements N 
39¢ª20'11.4" and W 83¢ª18'30".


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