Image from Howe's Historical Collection
Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26, 1774–March 18, 1845), was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced the apple to large parts of
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still
alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and also because of the symbolic importance of
apples.
He was also a missionary for the Church of the New
Jerusalem, which is based on the theological writings of Emanuel
Swedenborg.[1]
Family
John Chapman was the second child of Nathaniel Chapman and Elizabeth (née Simonds) (who married February 8, 1770) of Leominster,
Massachusetts.[1] Nathaniel was a
farmer of little means, although tradition holds that he lost two good farms during the American Revolution.[1] Nathaniel started John Chapman upon a career as an orchardist by apprenticing him to a Mr.
Crawford, who had apple orchards.[2]
A third child, Nathaniel Jr., was born on June 26, 1776, while
Nathaniel was an officer leading a company of carpenters attached to General George
Washington in New York City. Elizabeth, however, was suffering from
tuberculosis, and both mother and child died in July, leaving John and his older sister, also named Elizabeth, to be raised by
relatives. After being honorably discharged in 1780, Nathaniel married Lucy Cooley, who had 10 children by a previous marriage.
Around 1803 John's sister Elizabeth married Nathaniel Rudd.[1]
Heading to the frontier
In 1792, 18-year-old Chapman went west, taking 11-year-old half-brother Nathaniel with him. Their destination was the
headwaters of the Susquehanna. There are stories of him practicing his nurseryman
craft in the Wilkes-Barre area and of picking seeds from the pomace at Potomac cider mills in the late 1790s.[1]
Land records show that John Chapman was in today's Licking County, Ohio, in
1800. Congress had passed resolutions in 1798 to give land there, ranging from
160-2,240 acres (65-900 hectares), to Revolutionary War veterans, but it took until 1802 before the soldiers actually received
letters of patent to their grants. By the time they arrived, his nurseries, located on the Isaac Stadden farm, had trees big
enough to transplant.
Nathaniel Chapman arrived, second family in tow, in 1805, although John's sister Elizabeth remained in the east with her
husband. At that point, the younger Nathaniel Chapman rejoined the elder, and Johnny Appleseed spent the rest of his life
alone.
By 1806, when he arrived in Jefferson County, Ohio, canoeing down the
Ohio River with a load of seeds, he was known as Johnny Appleseed. He had used a
pack horse to bring seeds to Licking Creek in 1800, so
it seems likely that the nickname appeared at the same time as his religious conversion.
Attitudes towards animals
Johnny Appleseed's beliefs made him care deeply about animals. His concern extended even to insects. Henry Howe, who visited
all 88 counties in Ohio in the early 1800s, collected these stories in the 1830s, when Johnny Appleseed was still alive:[3]
| “ |
One cool autumnal night, while lying by his camp-fire in the woods, he observed that
the mosquitoes flew in the blaze and were burnt. Johnny, who wore on his head a tin utensil which answered both as a cap and a
mush pot, filled it with water and quenched the fire, and afterwards remarked, “God forbid that I should build a fire for my
comfort, that should be the means of destroying any of His creatures.”
Another time he made his camp-fire at the end of a hollow log in which he intended to pass the night, but finding it occupied
by a bear and cubs, he removed his fire to the other end, and slept on the snow in the open air, rather than disturb the
bear.
|
” |
Attitude towards marriage
When Johnny Appleseed was asked why he did not marry, his answer was always that two female spirits would be his wives in the
after-life if he stayed single on earth.[4] However, Henry Howe reported that Appleseed had been a frequent visitor
to Perrysville, Ohio, where Appleseed is remembered as being a constant
snuff customer, with beautiful teeth. He was to propose to Miss Nancy Tannehill there—only to find
that he was a day late; she had accepted a prior proposal:[5]
| “ |
On one occasion Miss PRICE’s mother asked Johnny if he would not be a happier man, if
he were settled in a home of his own, and had a family to love him. He opened his eyes very wide–they were remarkably keen,
penetrating grey eyes, almost black–and replied that all women were not what they professed to be; that some of them were
deceivers; and a man might not marry the amiable woman that he thought he was getting, after all.
Now we had always heard that Johnny had loved once upon a time, and that his lady love had proven false to him. Then he said
one time he saw a poor, friendless little girl, who had no one to care for her, and sent her to school, and meant to bring her up
to suit himself, and when she was old enough he intended to marry her. He clothed her and watched over her; but when she was
fifteen years old, he called to see her once unexpectedly, and found her sitting beside a young man, with her hand in his,
listening to his silly twaddle.
I peeped over at Johnny while he was telling this, and, young as I was, I saw his eyes grow dark as violets, and the pupils
enlarge, and his voice rise up in denunciation, while his nostrils dilated and his thin lips worked with emotion. How angry he
grew! He thought the girl was basely ungrateful. After that time she was no protegé of his.
|
” |
Johnny Appleseed, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, 1871
Business plan
The popular image of Johnny Appleseed had him spreading apple seeds randomly, everywhere he went. In fact, he planted
nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock, left the nurseries in the care of a
neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery. Many of these nurseries were located in
the Mohican area of North-Central Ohio. This area included the towns of Mansfield, Ohio;
Lucas, Ohio; Perrysville, Ohio; and
Loudonville, Ohio.[6]
Appleseed's managers were asked to sell trees on credit, if at all possible, but he would accept corn meal, cash or used
clothing in barter. The notes did not specify an exact maturity date—that date might not be convenient—and if it did not get paid
on time, or even get paid at all, Johnny Appleseed did not press for payment. Appleseed was hardly alone in this pattern of doing
business; however, it was unique that he remained an itinerant his entire life.[1]
"Here's your primitive Christian!" Illustration from Harper's, 1871
He obtained the apple seed for free; cider mills wanted more apple trees planted since it would eventually bring them more
business. Johnny Appleseed dressed in the worst of the used clothing he received, giving away the better clothing he received in
barter. He wore no shoes, even in the snowy winter. There was always someone in need he could help out, for he did not have a
house to maintain. When he heard a horse was to be put down, he had to buy the horse, buy a few grassy acres nearby, and turn the
horse out to recover. If it did, he would give the horse to someone needy, exacting a promise to treat the horse
humanely.[7]
Towards the end of his career, he was present when an itinerant missionary was exhorting to an open-air congregation in
Mansfield, Ohio. The sermon was long and quite severe on the topic of extravagance,
because the pioneers were starting to buy such indulgences as calico and store-bought
tea. "Where now is there a man who, like the primitive Christians, is traveling to heaven bare-footed and clad in coarse
raiment?" the preacher repeatedly asked, until Johnny Appleseed, his endurance worn out, walked up to the preacher, put his bare
foot on the stump which had served as a lectern, and said, "Here's your primitive Christian!" The flummoxed sermonizer dismissed
the congregation.[8]
He was generous with the Swedenborgian church as well. He swapped 160 acres of land near Wooster, Ohio, in 1821 in exchange for Swedenborgian tracts that he could distribute.[1] He would often tear a few pages from one of
Swedenborg's books and leave them with his hosts.
He made several trips back east, both to visit his sister and to replenish his supply of Swedenborgian literature. He
typically would visit his orchards every year or two and collect his earnings.
Health
It has been suggested that Johnny may have had Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic
disorder.[9] One of the primary characteristics of Marfan
Syndrome is extra-long and slim limbs. All sources seem to agree that Johnny Appleseed was slim, but while other accounts suggest
that he was tall, Harper's describes him as "small and wiry."
Those who propose the Marfan theory suggest that his compromised health may have made him feel the cold less intensely. His
long life, however, suggests he did not have Marfan's, and while Marfan's is closely associated with death from cardiovascular
complications, Johnny Appleseed died in his sleep, from winter plague (presumably pneumonia).
Grave site
There is some vagueness concerning the date of his death and his burial. Harper's New
Monthly Magazine of November, 1871 (which is taken by many as the primary source of information about John Chapman)
says he died in the summer of 1847.[8]
The Fort Wayne Sentinel, however, printed his obituary on March 22, 1845, saying that he died on March
18:[10]
| “ |
On the same day in this neighborhood, at an advanced age, Mr. John Chapman (better
known as Johnny Appleseed).
The deceased was well known through this region by his eccentricity, and the strange garb he usually wore. He followed the
occupation of a nurseryman, and has been a regular visitor here upwards of 10 years. He was a native of Pennsylvania we
understand but his home—if home he had—for some years past was in the neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, where he has relatives living. He is supposed to have considerable property, yet denied
himself almost the common necessities of life—not so much perhaps for avarice as from his peculiar notions on religious subjects.
He was a follower of Swedenborg and devoutly believed that the more he endured in this world the less he would have to suffer and
the greater would be his happiness hereafter—he submitted to every privation with cheerfulness and content, believing that in so
doing he was securing snug quarters hereafter.
In the most inclement weather he might be seen barefooted and almost naked except when he chanced to pick up articles of old
clothing. Notwithstanding the privations and exposure he endured he lived to an extreme old age, not less than 80 years at the
time of his death — though no person would have judged from his appearance that he was 60. "He always carried with him some work
on the doctrines of Swedenborg with which he was perfectly familiar, and would readily converse and argue on his tenets, using
much shrewdness and penetration.
His death was quite sudden. He was seen on our streets a day or two previous.”
|
” |
The actual site of his grave is disputed as well. Developers of Fort Wayne, Indiana's Canterbury Green apartment complex and golf
course claim his grave is there, marked by a rock. That is where the Worth cabin in which he died sat.[11]
However, Steven Fortriede, director of the Allen County Public Library
(ACPL) and author of the 1978 "Johnny Appleseed", believes another putative gravesite, one designated as a national historic landmark and
located in Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne,[12] is the correct site.[11] According to an 1858 interview with Richard Worth Jr., Chapman was buried "respectably" in the
Archer cemetery, and Fortriede believes use of the term "respectably" indicates Chapman was buried in the hallowed ground of Archer cemetery instead of near the cabin where he died.[11]
John H. Archer, grandson of David Archer, wrote in a letter[13] dated October 4, 1900:
| “ |
The historical account of his death and burial by the Worths and their neighbors, the
Pettits, Goinges, Porters, Notestems, Parkers, Beckets, Whitesides, Pechons, Hatfields, Parrants, Ballards, Randsells, and the
Archers in David Archer's private burial grounds is substantially correct. The grave, more especially the common head-boards used
in those days, have long since decayed and become entirely obliterated, and at this time I do not think that any person could
with any degree of certainty come within fifty feet of pointing out the location of his grave. Suffice it to say that he has been
gathered in with his neighbors and friends, as I have enumerated, for the majority of them lie in David Archer's graveyard with
him |
” |
The Johnny Appleseed Commission to the Common Council of the City of Fort Wayne reported, "as a part of the celebration of
Indiana's 100th birthday in 1916 an iron fence was placed in the Archer graveyard by the Horticulture Society of Indiana setting
off the grave of Johnny Appleseed. At that time, there were men living who had attended the funeral of Johnny Appleseed. Direct
and accurate evidence was available then. There was little or no reason for them to make a mistake about the location of this
grave. They located the grave in the Archer burying ground."[14]
Legacy
Despite his best efforts to give his wealth to the needy, Johnny Appleseed left an estate of over 1,200 acres
(500 ha) of valuable nurseries to his sister, worth millions even then, and far more now.[15] He could have left more if he had been diligent in his bookkeeping. He
bought the southwest quarter (160 acres) of section 26, Mohican Township, Ashland County, Ohio, but he did not record the deed and lost the property.[16]
The financial panic of 1837 took a toll on his estate.[17] Trees only brought two or three cents each,[17] as opposed to the "fip-penny bit" (about six and a quarter cents) that he
usually got.[18] Some of his land was sold for
taxes following his death, and litigation used up much of the rest.[17]
A memorial, in Fort Wayne's Swinney Park, purports to honor him but not to mark his grave. At the time of his death, he owned four plots in
Allen County, Indiana, including a nursery in Milan Township, Allen County, Indiana, with 15,000 trees.[11]
Since 1975, a Johnny Appleseed Festival has been held in mid-September in Johnny Appleseed Park. Musicians, demonstrators, and
vendors dress in early 19th century dress, and offer food and beverages which would have been available then.[19] An outdoor drama is also an annual event in Mansfield, Ohio.[20]
March 11 or September 26 are sometimes celebrated as
Johnny Appleseed Day. The September date is Appleseed's acknowledged birthdate, but the March date is sometimes preferred because
it is during planting season, even though it is disputed as the day of his death.
In modern culture
Many books and films have been based on the life of Johnny
Appleseed.[21] One interesting account is from the first
chapter of The Botany of Desire by Michael
Pollan.
1948 Disney movie.
One of the more successful films was Melody Time, the animated 1948 film from
Walt Disney Studios featuring Dennis Day. A 19-minute
segment tells the story of an apple farmer who sees others going west, wistfully wishing he was not tied down by his orchard,
until an angel appears, singing an apple song, setting Johnny on a mission. When he
treats a skunk kindly, all animals everywhere thereafter trust him. The cartoon features lively
tunes, and a childlike simplicity of message, offering a bright, well-groomed park environment instead of a dark and rugged
malarial swamp, friendly, pet-like creatures instead of dangerous animals and a lack of hunger,
loneliness, disease, and extremes of temperature. Uniquely for a cartoon of its period, it shows Johnny at the moment of his
death, followed by his resurrection in heaven and the commitment to 'sow the clouds' with apple trees.[22]
Supposedly, the only surviving tree planted by Johnny Appleseed is on the farm of Richard and Phyllis Algeo of
Nova, Ohio[23] Some
marketers claim it is a Rambo,[24] although the Rambo was
introduced to America in the 1640s by Peter Gunnarsson Rambo,[25] more than a century before John Chapman was born. Some even make the claim that the Rambo was
"Johnny Appleseed's favorite variety",[26] ignoring that
he had religious objections to grafting and preferred wild apples to all named varieties. It appears most nurseries are calling
the tree the "Johnny Appleseed" variety, rather than a Rambo. Unlike the mid-summer Rambo, the Johnny Appleseed variety ripens in
September and is a baking/applesauce variety similar to an Albemarle Pippen. Nurseries offer the Johnny Appleseed tree as an
immature apple tree for planting, with scions from the Algeo stock grafted on them.[27] Orchardists do not appear to be marketing the fruit of this tree.
The fantasy video game Wild Arms 5 uses elements of the Johnny Appleseed legend,
including his name, as part of its story.
Apple Inc. uses a "John Appleseed" character in most of its recent adverts, video
tutorials and keynote presentation examples.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g
Swedenborgian history. Retrieved September 9, 2006 from http://swedenborg.org/jappleseed/history.html
- ^ "Johnny Appleseed, Orchardist", prepared by the staff of the
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, November, 1952, page 4
- ^ Howe, Henry (1903). Richland County. Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio
(485), New York:Dover.
- ^ (1871) "Johnny
Appleseed: A Pioneer Hero". Harper's New Monthly Magazine (LXIV):
833.
- ^ Howe,
Henry (1903). Richland County. Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio. New York: Dover, 260.
- ^ (1871) Johnny Appleseed: A Pioneer Hero,
"Harper's New Monthly Magazine", LXIV, 830-831
- ^ "Johnny Appleseed, Orchardist", prepared by the staff of the
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen Couth, November, 1952, page 26
- ^ a b (1871) Johnny Appleseed: A Pioneer Hero, "Harper's New Monthly Magazine", LXIV, 836
- ^ Marfan Syndrome Resource Page. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
- ^ (March
22, 1845) "Obituaries". The Fort Wayne Sentinel 67 (81).
- ^ a b c d Kilbane, Kevin (September 18,
2003). Researcher finds slice of Johnny Appleseed's life that may prove his burial spot. The News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2005-02-14. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Man and Myth Retrieved September 5, 2006 from http://www.in.gov/ism/Education/Johnny_Appleseed.pdf#search=%22Johnny%20Appleseed%3A%20Man%20and%20Myth%22
- ^ John H. Archer letter, dated October 4, 1900, in Johnny Appleseed
collection of Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne IN
- ^ Report of a Special Committee of the Johnny Appleseed Commission to the
Common Council of the City of Fort Wayne, December 27, 1934
- ^ The Straight Dope on Johnny Appleseed. Straight Dope. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
- ^ (1871) "Johnny
Appleseed: A Pioneer Hero". Harper's New Monthly Magazine (LXIV):
835.
- ^ a b c "Johnny Appleseed,
Orchardist", prepared by the staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen Couth, November, 1952, page 26
- ^ "Johnny Appleseed, Orchardist", prepared by the staff of the
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen Couth, November, 1952, page 17
- ^ Johnny Appleseed Festival. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
- ^ The
Johnny Appleseed Outdoor Drama. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
- ^ A search on "Subject: Johnny Appleseed" in category books at
Amazon.com, September 5, 2007 shows 116 items.
- ^ Johnny Appleseed (1948) Retrieved September 12, 2006 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040494/
- ^ Virginia Berry Farm Retrieved September 12, 2006 from http://virginiaberryfarm.com/Fruit_berry_plants/fruit_trees.htm
- ^ Koontenai Retrieved September 12, 2006 from http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/kootenai/projects/environmental/nepa/qrtly_files/qrtly699.pdf
- ^ Peter Gunnarsson Rambo Retrieved September 12, 2006 from http://www.colonialswedes.org/forefathers/rambo.html
- ^ Virginia Apples Retrieved September 12, 2006 from http://www.virginiaapples.org/kids/appleseed.html
- ^ The Johnny Appleseed Tree Retrieved September 12, 2006 from
http://www.historictrees.org/produ_ht/johnappl.htm
External links
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Johnny Appleseed |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
John Chapman |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Legendary nurseryman and missionary |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
February 8, 1770 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Leominster, Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH |
March 18, 1845 |
| PLACE OF DEATH |
Fort Wayne, Indiana |
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