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1774 - 1845 (70 years) Submit Photo / Document
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Name |
John Chapman |
Nickname |
Johnny Appleseed |
Born |
26 Sep 1774 |
Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts |
Gender |
Male |
Library book: Genealogy of the Chapman Family |
003 - "Johnny Appleseed" |
Occupation |
Johnny Appleseed |
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Hard Cider. Whatever you may have heard it was about land and booze.
Frontier law allowed people to claim ownership of land through development of a permanent homestead. One way to prove a claim was by planting 50 apple trees. Traveling through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois, Chapman would plant not random seeds but, orchards. Once the orchard matured he would then sell the land to settlers. It was a strategy that made him fairly wealthy for his time.
You wouldn't want to eat John's apples. They were small and tart. They were not meant to be eaten but to be transformed into hard cider. Post revolution all the way up to prohibition hard cider was very popular in America and, sometimes safer than the water which might contain bacteria.
Prohibition destroyed John's legacy. FBI agents took to the orchards with axes and, made sure they could no longer be used to produce alcohol. Today only one of John's trees is known to survive.
Never the less while edible apples were not his intention, apples of the day were cultivated through grafting not planting seeds. Grafting produced apples that never changed. The seeds he planted allowed for mutations. When you visit the market today and get to choose from many varieties of apples it can be considered a gift from John and his work. |
Died |
18 Mar 1845 |
Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana |
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Johnny Appleseed Obituary. Goshen (Indiana) Democrat, March 26, 1845 page 4. |
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Johnny Appleseed Estate. The Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel, April 18, 1845 page 3. |
Buried |
Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park, Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, United States |
- There is controversy over the john's burial site.
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Johnny Appleseed Gravesite. Johnny Appleseed Gravesite. |
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Johnny Appleseed Burial. The spot in Appleseed park was a state cemetery. Some believe that is the location of his burial although, there is no record. The stone marking the grave was set up September 25, 1965. It is likely not an indicator of an exact burial site.
Others believe he was buried in a location not far from where he died and not far from the cabin was living in. This exact spot has been lost to development.
For an extended look into the argument that John is buried in this location see the book "Chapman Genealogy" in our Family History Library. |
Siblings |
3 siblings |
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Person ID |
I36602 |
Nagel |
Last Modified |
27 Nov 2018 |
Father |
Nathaniel Chapman, b. 13 Sep 1746, Tewksbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 18 Feb 1807, Lower Salem, Washington, Ohio (Age 60 years) |
Relationship |
Birth |
Mother |
Elizabeth Simonds, b. 2 Feb 1748, Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts , d. 18 Jul 1776, Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts (Age 28 years) |
Relationship |
Birth |
Married |
8 Feb 1770 |
Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts |
Family ID |
F11691 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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Event Map |
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| Born - 26 Sep 1774 - Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts |
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| Died - 18 Mar 1845 - Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana |
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| Buried - - Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park, Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, United States |
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Pin Legend |
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set |
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Photos |
| Johnny Appleseed. This image, widely reproduced was originally published in Harper's Magazine, November 1871. |
Stamps & Coins |
| Johnny Appleseed A five cent stamp issued September 24, 1966 in Leominster, Massachusetts the town he was born in. |
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