Johnny Appleseed Biography

Johnny Appleseed was born on September 26, 1774 and died on February 18, 1845.  He was born with the name of John Chapman, and he was an American pioneer nurseryman who was responsible for introducing apple trees to big portions of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana.  He was an American legend while he was alive, primarily because of his generosity and kindness, his leadership in the field of conservation, and his symbolism with apples.  Johnny Appleseed was also a missionary in the Church of the New Jerusalem, or the Swedenborgian Church.

John Chapman was the second child of Elizabeth and Nathaniel Chapman of Leominster, Massachusetts.  His father was a farmer, but he had little means during his life.  Nathaniel started his son on a career as an orchardist when he apprenticed him to a man with apple orchards named Mr. Crawford.  There was a third child named Nathaniel Jr.  His mother was ill, likely with tuberculosis, and  their mother died in July along with the child, so John and his older sister, Elizabeth were left to be raised by relatives.  After John's father, Nathaniel, was discharged from the army in 1780, he married Lucy Cooley, and they had ten more children together.  Around 1803, Elizabeth married Nathaniel Rudd. 

In 1792, John Chapman was 18 years old and he told his sister Emily and his half brother Nathaniel with him west.  They were heading to Susquehanna.  Stories have been told of him beginning his nurseryman craft in the Wilkes-Barre area and picking seeds at cider mills.  However, land records indicate that Johnny was in Licking County, Ohio in 1800.  At the time, Congress had given land there from 160 to 2,240 acres to veterans of the Revolutionary War. 

Nathaniel and his second family and Johnny's sister came in 1805.  The younger Nathaniel and the father were reunited, and in this time, his sister Elizabeth had gotten married.  By the time Johnny Appleseed had arrived in Jackson County of Ohio in 1806, he was now known as Johnny Appleseed.

Johnny is in images as a person who spread apple seeds randomly everywhere.  However, he planted nurseries, not orchards.  He also built fences around what he planted in order to protect them from livestock.  He would then leave the nurseries in the care of a neighbor and would return to the area every year or two in order to tend to the nursery.  Many of the nurseries were located in the north central portion of Ohio and included towns of Lucas, Mansfield, Loudonville, and Perrysville.  The neighbors left responsible for Johnny's nurseries had to sell trees on credit if they could, but it was also acceptable for them to accept cash, corn meal, or used clothing.  The notes given did not give a maturity date, and if the note did not get paid, Johnny did not apparently press for his payment. 

So where did Johnny get all of these apple seeds for all of his nurseries?  They were obtained by Johnny for free, as cider mills were in favor of more apple trees being planted because they could bring more business.  Johnny was also known for dressing in terrible used clothing, as he often would give away some of the better clothing in barter.  He also did not wear shoes, even in the winter.  It seemed that there was always someone that Johnny could help, so he often gave away what he had to help others in need.  There is also a story about him that he heard a horse was to be slaughtered, so he bought the horse, a few acres of pasture nearby, and let the horse graze.  Then if the horse recovered, he would give it to someone who was needy, as long as the new owner promised to treat the horse in a humane manner.

Johnny was known for his subsistent lifestyle.  Although he did not really wear a pot on his head or torn rags for clothing, he did go barefoot.  Most of Johnny's time was spent traveling from home to home on the frontier.  He loved to tell stories to children and spread the gospel of the Swedenborgian church to the adults.  He would in turn typically have the floor to sleep on for the night and supper in exchange.  He continued to make trips to the east to visit his sister and replenish the supply he had of Swedenborgian literature.  Every year or two he would usually visit his orchards and collect his earnings. 

Johnny Appleseed was said to care for animals, even caring for insects.  Johnny also had an odd attitude towards becoming married.  He never did marry, and when he was asked why not, he told people that two female spirits would be his wives in the after-life if he remained single while on earth.  

The burial and date of death of Johnny Appleseed has been surrounded by controversy. Some say that he died in the summer of 1847, but it has also been said that he died on March 18 of 1845.  The site of his grave is disputed too.  The developers of Canterbury Green apartment complex and golf course in Fort Wayne, Indiana claim that his grave is there with a rock marking.  Yet, others believe that there is a different gravesite in the Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Yet others believe that Johnny was buried in Archer cemetery in hallowed ground near the cabin where he passed away. 

Johnny Appleseed left his estate of about 1,200 acres of nurseries to his sister.  He additionally owned four plots of land in Allen County, Indiana, which included a nursery in Milan Township, Allen County, Indiana, that had 15,000 trees.  If he had been a little more careful with his bookkeeping, Johnny could have had more land.  Since he did not record the deed to 160 acres in Ashland County, Ohio, he lost the property.  Due to the financial panic of 1837, Johnny's estate suffered.  Trees were sold for only about two or three cents instead of about six cents each.  Additionally, some of his land had to be sold for taxes after his death, and litigation was used to pay for most of the rest.  There is a memorial that honors him in Swinney Park. There is also a Johnny Appleseed Festival that has been held in Johnny Appleseed Park in mid-September since 1975 in which musicians, vendors, and demonstrtors all dress in the clothing of the 19th century and offer beverages and food that were consistent with those available during Johnny's time.  The dates of March 11 or September 26 are commonly celebrated as Johnny Appleseed Day.  The Septmeber date is his birthdate that has been acknowledged, but sometimes the March date is preferred due to it being during the planting season.  Additionally, there is a public school in Leominster, MA where he was born that is called the Johnny Appleseed Elementary School.  Johnny Appleseed continues to be a remembered character today.