Chapmans story is one of peace, friendship and generosity
By Amber Kanuckel
November 17, 2016
565
John Chapman stands large in American folklore, particularly in places like Central Ohio, where he is known to have lived and worked. Nicknamed Johnny Appleseed, the tale most often told goes like this: Appleseed traveled through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and elsewhere, carrying a sack of apples on his back. He ate the apples as he walked, letting the cores fall where they may, leaving a trail of apple trees across the Midwest.
While there is a tiny fragment of truth in that tale, the story of John Chapman is much more complex.
Julie McDaniel, who is the librarian and manager of the Johnny Appleseed Educational Center and Museum at Urbana University, said, The story of John Chapman is a relatively long one. Several full length books have been written about him.
Chapman was born in New England and began his journey to the Midwest in 1792 when he was 18 years old. He first traveled to his uncles home in Olean, New York, then down the Allegheny River. Chapman traveled through Pennsylvania, and then in 1801 he traveled down the Ohio River and into the Ohio Territory.
A shrewd businessman, Chapman first recognized the demand for apples while he was traveling through Pennsylvania. He had a plan and is considered an entrepreneur in his recognition that settlers would be able to use apple trees to be help them survive on the frontier while they established their claims, McDaniel said.
During this time Revolutionary War veterans were receiving free land in Ohio. In order to keep that land, one of the requirements laid out was to make sure there were 50 fruit trees planted on the property. Apples worked best because they kept well over the winter, were recognized as nutritious and were easily made into cider, which was one of the most popular beverages at the time.
Chapmans first apple orchards were planted in Warren and Franklin, Pennsylvania, but many more orchards followed as Chapman traveled through the Ohio Territory and into Indiana. In fact some of the last orchards he planted as the end of his career neared were on the Maumee River near Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Contrary to the myths surrounding Chapman, he was not careless about where his apples were planted. According to McDaniel, He was strategic in his choice of nursery location and hiring of farmers who would tend nurseries while he continued to scout the Ohio and Indiana territories.
Apple orchards were central to Chapmans life, but that isnt the entire story. He was a complex figure who sought to befriend everyone during a time when tensions were high between settlers and Native Americans. Chapman was a pacifist, a missionary from the Church of the New Jerusalem (the Swedenborgian Church), and would talk about his devotion with anyone who was interested.
Chapman also was a respected medical herbalist, making use of plants such as pennyroyal, catnip and mullein to treat the ails of settlers and Native Americans.
His legacy is one of charity. Chapman would sometimes tell settlers that could not afford one of his orchards to pay me when you can. Settlers would offer him food and lodging because Chapman had no permanent home, but Chapman would often opt to have dinner with the family and then sleep outdoors or in a barn so as not to impose.
In addition to all of this, Chapman served as something of a liaison between Native Americans and settlers, helping to smooth relations wherever possible. The War of 1812 made that task difficult, and in one instance Chapman inadvertently worsened the situation when he told settlers living near Greentown, a Native American settlement that was once near present-day Perrysburg, Ohio, that a force of British and Native Americans were on their way to the area. As it happened, Chapmans information was false, but it started a panic that left settlers uneasy with their Native American neighbors.
During another wartime incident Chapman saved a group of settlers in Mansfield. The settlers were pinned down by the enemy forces, so Chapman volunteered to make the journey from Mansfield and Mount Vernon, where the closest militia was located. Once the militia heard Chapmans tale, they marched to Mansfield and saved the settlers.
So much more can be said about John Chapman, but as noted, entire books have been devoted to this mans life story. Throughout the massive volume of research one thing is clear: Chapmans story is one of peace, friendship and generosity.
