In elementary school, the beginning of the school year in September always meant cooler days, crisp air, and apple-picking season. Teachers capitalized on this and used the opportunity to teach us about one of America’s great folk heroes – Johnny Appleseed. As the legend goes, Johnny Appleseed was a poor, wandering man who loved all living creatures. People gave him apples to eat along his journey, and he saved the seeds, planting them as he travelled. It was his hope that enough apple trees would grow to feed all the creatures he held dear. His apple trees grew and spread, and as people moved out west, they settled near his orchards and groves, feeding off the trees he planted.
Johnny Appleseed planted seeds throughout many states, and even journeyed into Ontario. He travelled far and wide, planting trees “high and low” – which is the topic of week 37 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. He may be a folk hero, but John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman was a real person and a distant relation. He is my 4th cousin six times removed. Our common ancestors are my 8th great-grandparents, John Chapman who died in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1677 and Rebecca Smith.
John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman was born on September 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts, the second child of Nathaniel Chapman and Elizabeth Simonds. His family ventured west and settled in Ohio in 1805, though some historians believe John was living in Ohio several year prior to that. It is believed that he trained to be an arborist in Pennsylvania.
He was described by many of his contemporaries as having a wild and unkempt physical appearance. Dr. Bushnell knew the famous “Johnny Appleseed” and gave an interview about him which appeared in the August 12, 1888 edition of the Augusta Chronicle in Augusta Georgia:
Johnny Appleseed was not, I think, insane or weak minded. He used to come by my house when he passed through this part of the country. He was a small, wiry man with thin lips, dark face, and long, dark hair. His eyes were black and sharp and piercing. He had a pleasant smile, but his face was usually sober, and as to his dress it was as fantastic and dilapidated as you can imagine. It was made up of cast-off garments which he had gotten in exchange for apple trees or seeds, and he cared nothing at all for appearances. I have seen him at times when his chief garment was a coffee sack with a hole at the top for his head to pass through and one for each of his arms.
He never wore shoes except for the coldest of winter. He said that shoes hurt his feet and he could get along better without them…..
As to Johnny Appleseed’s hat… he wore anything he could get that would cover his head, and he usually had a pasteboard visor which he tied over his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun. He usually carried a tin vessel along with him in which he cooked his mush, and during part of his life he wore this tin vessel on his head between times as a hat.
Though the legend says he scattered apple seeds wherever he went, in reality he methodically planted nurseries and orchards, building fences around them to protect the saplings from livestock. His first known orchard was planted in Licking County, Ohio on the land of Isaac Stadden. Despite his shabby appearance and his disregard for worldly possessions, John was an adept businessman. Once a tree nursery was established, he left it in the care of a neighbor who would watch over it for shares of the trees they sold to other pioneers. His sister inherited over 1,200 acres of nurseries when he died.
Why would a man with so much money choose to live such a difficult life? He dressed like a pauper, walked everywhere regardless of the weather, and often slept outside under the stars, and he didn’t have to. John Chapman was a devout follower of Emanuel Swendenborg, a Swedish scientist and philosopher who thought God and angels spoke directly to him. He believed a life of depravation would secure him a home in the afterlife. John Chapman emulated his beliefs and considered himself a missionary for the Church of New Jerusalem. On his travels, he proselytized to people. John enjoyed engaging in religious discussions with adults and sharing stories with children. He had a giving heart and believed in doing good works. If someone couldn’t pay for an apple tree, he would either give it to them or take anything they felt comfortable giving in trade.
John Chapman loved all creatures great and small. Supposedly he was upset when he once accidentally killed a snake. He was known to take on overworked, lame horses, nurse them back to health, and then use them to transport his apple seeds and saplings. Once he arrived at his destination, he would either turn them loose, or give a horse to someone less fortunate who didn’t have one, as long as they promised to treat the animal kindly. In his later years, John became a vegetarian.
He died on March 18, 1845, in the Fort Wayne, Indiana home of the Worth family. He stopped there on his travels and after sharing their dinner, the Worths invited him to sleep on the floor by the hearth. He grew ill during the night with “winter plague” and quietly passed away within a couple of days.
John Chapman never married and fathered no children. Although he had no direct descendants you might share a common ancestor with this fascinating American folk hero if you have New England Chapmans in your tree.
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