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 and West Longitude 83.30832, or in old measurements N
39 degrees 20 minutes 11.4 seconds and W 83 degrees 18 minutes 30 seconds.
Viola Francis Beechler Hester.
