John Chapman AKA "Johnny Appleseed" is a distant cousin to me. He left his hometown of Leominster, Massachusetts and went to the Ohio and Indiana territories as a missionary. These photos are of the memorial to Johnny at the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is not buried here, but was buried in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
JOHNNY APPLESEED
JOHN CHAPMAN SEPTEMBER 26, 1774 - MARCH 18, 1845
JOHNNY APPLESEED, FIGURE OF LEGEND, WAS A SWEDENBORGIAN
MISSIONARY TO THE OHIO AN DINDIAN FRONTIER. SAINTLY
IN HIS DAILY LIFE, HE LOVED LIFE IN ALL ITS FORMS AND
HAD A JOYOUS WILL TO HELP THE EARTH YIELD ITS FRUITS.
BIBLE IN HAND AND SACK OF SEEDS SWINGING FROM HIS SHOULDER
HE PLANTED MANY APPLE ORCHARDS THAT LIVE TODAY IN THIS
NATION. MAY HE BE REMEMBERED IN FACT AS WELL AS IN
LEGEND FOR HIS GODLINESS AND GOODNESS.
These next photos are from Fort Wayne, and are of the supposed burial spot for John Chapman "Johnny Appleseed".
Johnny Appleseed
1774 - 1845
Johnny Appleseed, legendary planter of orchards
across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, was a real
person named John Chapman. He was a friend to
all God's creatures and a missionary for the
Swedenborgian religion, a Christian denomination.
He was also a smart businessman. Moving ahead
of the waves of westward bound settlers, he
purchased property, carefully sowed appleseeds,
and had seedlings available when settlers arrived.
His seedlings were valuable because apples were
highly nutritious and orchards were a symbol of
permanency. He sold trees for 3 cents if you
planted them and 6.5 cents if he planted them for
you. Johnny was also very generous, often saying
"pay me when you can."
The amber water flask Johnny gave to a little girl on her birthday
gives us a clue to his success and fame. Material things meant
little to Johnny except when they could make a child smile, give
a pioneer family the means to improve their diet or increase
their cash income from apples or apple jack. Cider and apple
jack were pioneer currancy.
Documents like this receipt
indicate that Johnny lived
and worked here from the
1830s until his death in 1845.
Johnny lived a life of service in harmony with nature that impressed Native Americans, as
well as his fellow Americans. He was a proud patriot. His thoughts were of God and the
afterlife and his greeting was often, "I have good news from heaven!" He must have been a
good salesman. People loved him.
The water flask is on display at The History Center, 302 East Berry Street.
JOHN CHAPMAN
"JOHNNY APPLESEED"
DIED 1845
----------
ERECTED BY
INDIANA
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
"JOHNY
APPLESEED"
JOHN CHAPMAN
HE LIVED FOR OTHERS
HOLY BIBLE
1774 - 1845
IN FOND MEMORY OF
JOHN CHAPMAN, ENDEARINGLY KNOWN AS "JOHNNY APPLESEED"
THESE GRAVESITE IMPROVEMENTS WERE PROVIDED BY
THE MEN'S GARDEN CLUBS OF AMERICA
AND
THE JOHNNY APPLESEED NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOUNDATION, INC.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1965
My blog post about Johnny Appleseed's birthplace in Leominster, Massachusetts
Pam Seavey Schaffner's blog http://www.diggingdowneast.blogspot.com/
Carol A. Bowen Steven's blog http://reflectionsfromthefence.blogspot.com/
Carol A. Bowen Steven's blog http://reflectionsfromthefence.blogspot.com/
----------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/more-johnny-appleseed-photos-from.html
Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
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