Chapman, John

Chapman, John

▪ American nurseryman
born Sept. 26, 1774, Leominster, Mass.
died March 18?, 1845, near Fort Wayne, Ind., U.S.

      missionary nurseryman of the North American frontier who helped prepare the way for 19th-century pioneers by supplying apple-tree nursery stock throughout the Middle West.

      Although the legendary character of “Johnny Appleseed” is known chiefly through fiction, John Chapman was a genuine and dedicated professional nurseryman who expected to make a profit from the sale of his seedlings. Around 1800 he started collecting apple seeds from cider presses in western Pennsylvania and soon began his long trek westward, planting a series of apple nurseries from the Alleghenies to central Ohio and beyond. He sold or gave away thousands of seedlings to pioneers, whose acres of productive apple orchards became a living memorial to Chapman's missionary zeal.

      A variety of distinctive characteristics combined to create the “Johnny Appleseed” myth of the primitive natural man: his cheerful, generous nature, his affinity for the wilderness, his gentleness with animals, his devotion to the Bible, his knowledge of medicinal herbs, his harmony with the Indians, and above all his eccentric appearance—flowing hair under an inverted mush pan, bare feet, ragged trousers, and an old coffee sack over his shoulders with holes cut out for arms.

      John Chapman, owner of 1,200 acres of planted land, died from exposure in 1845, but the legend of “Johnny Appleseed” lives on in numerous literary works.

Additional Reading
An authentic biography is Robert Price, Johnny Appleseed: Man and Myth (1954, reissued 1967).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chapman,John — Chapman, John. Known as Johnny Ap·ple·seed (ăpʹəl sēd ) 1775? 1845. American pioneer and subject of many legends. He traveled widely in the Ohio River valley, planting apple seeds and pruning apple trees. * * * …   Universalium

  • Chapman, John Jay — ▪ American writer born March 2, 1862, New York, New York, U.S. died November 4, 1933, Poughkeepsie, New York       American poet, dramatist, and critic who attacked the get rich quick morality of the post Civil War “Gilded Age” in political… …   Universalium

  • John Cleese — Cleese in 2008 Birth name John Marwood Cleese Born 27 October 1939 (1939 10 27) …   Wikipedia

  • John Chapman (publisher) — John Chapman (1821 1894) was a publisher who had medical training and was based at 142 the Strand, London.His entry in the Concise Dictionary of National Biography, reads: Chapman, John (1822 1894) physician, author, publisher; apprencticed at… …   Wikipedia

  • John "Charlie" Whitney — Birth name Richard John Whitney Also known as John Charlie Whitney Born 24 June 1944 (1944 06 24) (age 67), Skipton, North Yorkshire, England …   Wikipedia

  • John Marwood Cleese — John Cleese bei der Oscar Verleihung 1989 John Marwood Cleese (* 27. Oktober 1939 in Weston super Mare, Somerset) ist ein britischer Komiker, Schauspieler und Drehbuchautor, der als Mitglied von Monty …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Cleese — en 2008 Données clés Nom de naissance John Marwood Cleese …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John Marwood Cleese — John Cleese John Cleese John Cleese aux Oscars en 1989. Nom de naissance John Marwood Cleese Naissance 27  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John Cleese — 2008 John Cleese bei der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Henry Whitley — (1866 – 1935), often known as J. H. Whitley, was a respected and successful British politician whose life and career spanned a period of significant social change, from roots in the heart of the Industrial Revolution through to the inter war… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”