South Salem is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in Ross County,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, United States. The population was 204 at the 2010 census.

History

In 1842, local

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister Hugh Stewart Fullerton orchestrated the establishment of a school in southwestern Ross County. Known as the "

Salem Academy Salem Academy is a boarding and day school for high school girls in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It shares its campus with Salem College, located near historic Old Salem. Salem Academy is the oldest private school in North Carolina, and the 4t ...

," this school became the foundation of the present village: landowner John Sample

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted South Salem in 1846 in order better to serve the students and teachers of the school. After two years of rapid growth, the village reached the point that it could easily serve the needs of the school, and growth ceased. Although South Salem incorporated in the 1870s, few other changes occurred during the late years of the nineteenth century. In 1917, its population was deemed to be between 350 and 400 residents, a size that had remained consistent since the 1850s. The Salem Academy (by then known as the "South Salem Academy") closed in 1907 due to competition from other schools,Marker #4-71: Salem Academy
Ohio Channel and the

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2006. Accessed 2010-09-02. and since that time, the village has declined in population.

Supposed royalty

According to legend, Mary A. Harriett was born on March 12, 1818, in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, the daughter of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's father,

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, (Edward Augustus; 2 November 1767 – 23 January 1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III. His only legitimate child became Queen Victoria. Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent a ...

. There is no proof of this relationship as autobiographies of Prince Edward fail to mention this fact. Edward, the fourth son of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, married Victoria's mother,

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , house = , father = Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , mother = Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf , birth_date = , birth_place = Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death ...

on May 29, 1818. Their daughter Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819. Mary was primed for the role of queen, but lost all hope of obtaining the throne when she married a commoner, Blyth Jagward Morter. The couple received a marriage settlement of around 3,000

British pounds Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, an ...

. However, with the dowry, Mary was ostracized from her royal family because marriage to a commoner was a serious offense. The Morter family then decided to give up their unhappy life in England and migrate to the United States in 1850. Morter went ahead to build a home and set himself up in business. When he was ready to send for Mary and their children, he wrote them saying he would meet them in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. However he heard nothing from his wife and concern for his family's welfare took him back to England. She apparently had received the letter since she was crossing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

at the same time Morter was returning for her. When she and the children arrived in New York City and found no one to meet them, fear and poverty set in. After what must have seemed an endless few months, Morter arrived back in the United States. The family then traveled by canal and stagecoach to South Salem in 1851. The family moved into their home but it was not yet completed. The windows were still not in place and the plaster was wet. Mary, her condition probably weakened by her journey to Ohio, developed a cold, then tuberculosis, and died shortly afterwards. Morter carved his wife's tombstone and buried her in the South Salem Cemetery. Her tombstone reads "Mary A. wife of B. J. Morter, native of England, Died April 16, 1852, aged 34 years, 1 mo. 4 days." Then at the very bottom of the tombstone is the single word "Think". When Blyth Morter carved the word "Think" on his wife's tombstone, perhaps he knew that future generations would stop and look at the grave and would indeed Think. File:SouthSalemOH9.JPG, Gravestone of Mary A. Morter File:SouthSalemOH10.JPG, Closeup of gravestone File:SouthSalemOH11.JPG, The word Think at bottom of gravestone

Geography

South Salem is located at (39.336418, -83.307392). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 204 people, 80 households, and 58 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 84 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, and 0.5% from two or more races. There were 80 households, of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.5% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the village was 42 years. 23% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.5% were from 25 to 44; 31.3% were from 45 to 64; and 12.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 213 people, 77 households, and 60 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 81 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.24%

, 0.94%

, 0.47% Native American, 0.94% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.41% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.41% of the population. There were 77 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.9% were

living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.11. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 113.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $37,250. Males had a median income of $31,563 versus $22,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $12,762. About 6.3% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 17.4% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1846 Villages in Ross County, Ohio Villages in Ohio 1846 establishments in Ohio