Johnny Appleseed Biography and Pictures

John Chapman (September 26, 1774 - March 11, 1847) was an American pioneer and Christian missionary known as "Johnny Appleseed" because he planted apple trees in large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, and became an American legend while he was still alive, being portrayed in works of art and literature. He is considered an early conservationist, what would be called today an ecologist.

There is some vagueness concerning the date of his death. Harper's Magazine of November, 1871 (which is taken by many as the primary source of information about John Chapman) gives the date as 1847. Other sources, however, give the year as 1845 and some give the date as March 18, though it is difficult to find documentation of this date. A memorial site is located on a hill in Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His actual grave is unmarked and located somewhere along the St. Joseph River in the park.

The apple orchards sown by Chapman yielded highly variable, small, sour fruits. They were not today's familiar sweet snack, produced by grafting clones of a few exceptional varieties. The seed-grown apples popular on the early nineteenth century frontier were primarily used to make hard cider (sometimes distilled to make applejack), which was the preferred alcoholic beverage in the early American West.

A memorial site is located on a hill in Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Popular culture

In Praise of Johnny Appleseed is a 1923 poem by Vachel Lindsay.
"Johnny Appleseed" is a song performed by NOFX.
"Johnny Appleseed" is a song performed by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.

Johnny Appleseed Biography / Pictures