Ohio History Journal

"JOHNNY APPLESEED"-JOHN CHAPMAN.   HIS MEMORY HONORED WITH A MONUMENT AT MANSFIELD, 0. Exercises of a unique and interesting character were held at Mansfield, Ohio, on the afternoon of November 8, 1900. It was the dedication in the Sherman-Heineman Park of the mon- ument to the memory of John Chapman, otherwise and more

popularly known as "Johnny Apple- seed," one of the historic characters of early Ohio, and particularly of the pioneer days of Richland county. The weather was not propitious for a numerous gathering of spectators, but those who were present will ever remember the occasion with peculiar interest. The monument was a gift to the city by Hon. M. B. Bushnell,* one of the Park Commissioners. The lower part of the monument is a buff stone, and bears the inscrip- tion "In memory of John Chapman, best known as 'Johnny Appleseed,'

pioneer nurseryman of Richland county from 181O to 1830.", On the opposite side are the names of the Park Commissioners. "Martin B. Bushnell, Henry M. Weaver and Roeliff Brinker- hoff, Sr., 1900." The dedicatory ceremonies were by invitation of the Park Commissioners conducted under the auspices of the Historical Society of Richland county, the members of which, in addition to the city officials, were specially invited to be present. The invocation was pronounced by the Rev. Dr. H. L. Wiles, of the First Lutheran Church. General Roeliff Brinker- hoff, one of the Park Commissioners, and President of the Ohio State Archaeological Society, then made the following address: *The gentleman who erected the monument to the memory of "Johnny Appleseed" in the Sherman-Heineman Park at Mansfield, O. (303)

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304       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.     ADDRESS OF GENERAL BRINKERHOFF. General Roeliff Brinkerhoff, of the Board of Park Commis- sioners, in his address spoke as follows: We have met here today to dedicate a monument to one of the earliest and most unselfish of Ohio benefactors. His name was John Chapman, but to the pioneers he was everywhere

known as "Johnny Appleseed." The field of his operations, in Ohio, was mainly, the valleys of the Muskin- gum river and its tributaries and his mission, for the most part, was to plant apple seeds in well located nurseries, in advance of civilization and have apple trees ready for plant- ing when the pioneers should appear. He also scattered through the forest the seeds of medicinal plants, such as dog-fennel, pennyroyal, cat- nip, hoarhound, rattlesnake root and the like. We hear of him as early as 1806

on the Ohio river, with two canoe loads of appleseeds gathered from the cider presses of western Pennsylvania and with these he planted nurseries along the Muskingum river and its trib- utaries. About 1810 he made his headquarters in that part of the old county of Richland, which is now Ashland, in Green township, and was there for a number of years and then came to Mans- field. He was a familiar figure and a welcome guest in the homes of the early pioneers. All the early orchards of Richland county were procured from the nurseries of "Johnny Appleseed." Within the sound of my voice, where I now stand, there are a dozen or more trees that we believe are the lineal descendants of "Johnny Appleseed's" nurseries. In fact, this monument is almost within the shadow of three or four of them. As civilization advanced "Johnny" passed on to the west- ward and at last, in 1847, he ended his career in Indiana and was

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"Johnny Appleseed."               305   buried near what is now the city of Fort Wayne. To the end he was true to his mission of planting nurseries and sowing the seeds of medicinal herbs. To the pioneers of Ohio he was an unselfish benefactor and we are here today to aid in transmitting to coming generations our grateful memory of his deeds.   HISTORICAL SKETCH. The historical sketch of "Johnny Appleseed" was prepared and presented by Mr. A. J. Baughman, a recognized authority in the early history of Richland county. Mr. Baughman's address was as follows: John Chapman was born at Springfield, Mass., in the year 1775. Of his early life but little is known, as he was reticent

about himself, but his half-sister, who came west at a later period, stated that Johnny had, when a boy, shown a fondness for natural scen- ery and often wandered from home in quest of plants and flowers and that he liked to listen to the birds singing and to gaze at the stars. Chapman's penchant for planting apple seeds and cultivating nur- series caused him to be called "Appleseed  John,"  which   was finally changed to "Johnny Apple- seed," and by that name he was called and known everywhere.

The year Chapman came to Ohio has been variously stated, but to say it was one hundred years ago would not be far from the mark. An uncle of the late Rosella Rice lived in Jefferson county when Chapman made his first advent into Ohio, and one day saw a queer-looking craft coming down the Ohio river above Steubenville. It consisted of two canoes lashed together, and its crew was one man-an angular oddly-dressed person-and when he landed he said his name was Chapman, and that his cargo consisted of sacks of apple seeds and that he intended to plant nurseries.

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Chapman's first nursery was planted nine miles below Steu-

benville, up a narrow valley, from the Ohio river, at Brilliant,

formerly called Lagrange, opposite Wellsburg, W. Va. After

planting a number of nurseries along the river front, he extended

his work into the interior of the state-into Richland county-

where he made his home for many years.

Chapman was enterprising in his way and planted nurseries

in a number of counties which required him to travel hundreds

of miles to visit and prune them yearly, as was his custom. His

usual price for a tree was "a fip penny-bit," but if the settler

hadn't money, Johnny would either give him credit or take old

clothes for pay. He generally located his nurseries along

streams, planted his seeds, surrounded the patch with a brush

fence, and when the pioneers came, Johnny had young fruit

trees ready for them. He extended his operations to the Mau-

mee country and finally into Indiana, where the last years of his

life were spent. He revisited Richland county the last time in

1843, and called at my father's, but as I was only five years old

at the time I do not remember him.

My parents (in about 1827-'35) planted two orchards with

trees they bought of Johnny, and he often called at their house,

as he was a frequent caller at the homes of the settlers. My

grandfather, Captain James Cunningham, settled in Richland

county in 1808, and was acquainted with Johnny for many years,

and I often heard him tell, in his Irish-witty way, many amusing

anecdotes and incidents of Johnny's life and of his peculiar and

eccentric ways.

Johnny was fairly educated, well read and was polite and

attentive in manner and was chaste in conversation. His face

was pleasant in expression, and he was kind and generous in

disposition. His nature was a deeply religious one, and his life

was blameless among his fellow men. He regarded comfort

more than style and thought it wrong to spend money for cloth-

ing to make a fine appearance.  He usually wore a broad-

brimmed hat. He went barefooted not only in the summer, but

often in cold weather, and a coffee sack, with neck and armholes

cut in it was worn as a coat. He was about 5 feet, 9 inches in

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"Johnny Appleseed."               307 height, rather spare in build, but was large boned and sinewy. His eyes were blue, but darkened with animation. For a number of years Johnny lived in a little cabin near Perrysville (then in Richland county), but later he made his

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home in Mansfield with his half-sister, a Mrs. Groome, who lived

on the Leesville road (now West Fourth street) near the present

residence of R. G. Hancock. The parents of George C. Wise

then lived near what is now the corner of West Fourth street

and Penn avenue and the Groome and Wise families were

friends and neighbors. George C. Wise, Hiram R. Smith, Mrs.

J. H. Cook and others remember "Johnny Appleseed" quite well.

Mrs. Cook was, perhaps, better acquainted with "Johnny" than

any other living person today, for the Wiler House was often his

stopping place. The homes of Judge Parker, Mr. Newman and

others were ever open to receive "Johnny" as a guest.

But the man who best understood this peculiar character

was the late Dr. William Bushnell, father of our respected fellow-

townsman, the Hon. M. B. Bushnell, the donor of this beautiful

commemorative monument, and by whose kindness and liber-

ality we are here today. With Dr. Bushnell's scholastic attain-

ments and intuitive knowledge of character he was enabled to

know and appreciate Chapman's learning and the noble traits of

his head and heart.

When upon his journeys "Johnny" usually camped out.

He never killed anything, not even for the purpose of obtaining

food. He carried a kit of cooking utensils with him, among

which was a mush-pan, which he sometimes wore as a hat.

When he called at a house, his custom was to lie upon the floor

with his kit for a pillow and after conversing with the family a

short time, would then read from a Swedenborgian book or

tract, and proceed to explain and extol the religious views he

so zealously believed, and whose teachings he so faithfully car-

ried out in his every-day life and conversation. His mission

was one of peace and good will and he never carried a weapon,

not even for self-defense. The Indians regarded him as a great

"Medicine Man," and his life seemed to be a charmed one, as

neither savage men nor wild beast would harm him.

Chapman never married and rumor said that a love affair in

the old Bay State was the cause of his living the life of a celibate

and recluse. Johnny himself never explained why he led such

a singular life except to remark that he had a mission-which

was understood to be to plant nurseries and to make converts to

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"Johnny Appleseed."              309

the doctrines taught by Emanuel Swedenborg. He died at the home of William Worth in St. Joseph township, Allen county, Indiana, March 11, 1847, and was buried in David Archer's graveyard, a few miles north of Fort Wayne, near the foot of a natural mound. His name is engraved as a cenotaph upon one of the monuments erected in Mifflin township, Ashland county, this state, to the memory of the pioneers. Those monuments were unveiled with imposing ceremony in the presence of over 6,000 people Sept. 15, 1882, the seventieth anniversary of the Copus tragedy. During the war of 1812 Chapman often warned the settlers of approaching danger. The following incident is given: When the news spread that Levi Jones had been killed by the Indians and that Wallace Reed and others had probably met the same fate, excitement ran high and the few families which composed the population of Mansfield sought the protection of the block- house, situated on the public square, as it was supposed the savages were coming in force from the north to overrun the country and to murder the settlers. There were no troops at the block-house at the time and as an attack was considered imminent a consultation was held and it was decided to send a messenger to Captain Douglas, at Mt. Vernon, for assistance. But who would undertake the haz- ardous journey? It was evening, and the rays of the sunset had faded away and the stars were beginning to shine in the darkening sky, and the trip of thirty miles must be made in the night over a new-cut road through a wilderness-through a for- est infested with wild beasts and hostile Indians. A volunteer was asked for and a tall, lank man said de- murely: "I'll go." He was bareheaded, barefooted, and was unarmed. His manner was meek and you had to look the second time into his clear, blue eyes to fully fathom the courage and determination shown in their depths. There was an expression in his countenance such as limners try to portray in their pic- tures of saints. It is scarcely necessary to state that the vol- unteer was "Johnny Appleseed," for many of you have heard your fathers tell how unostentatiously "Johnny" stood as "a

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watchman on the walls of Jezreel," to guard and protect the set-

tlers from their savage foes.

The journey to Mt. Vernon was a sort of a Paul Revere

mission. Unlike Paul's "Johnny's" was made on foot-bare-

footed-over a rough road, but one that in time led to fame.

"Johnny" would rap on the doors of the few cabins along

the route, warn the settlers of the impending danger and advise

them to flee to the block-house.

"Johnny" arrived safely at Mt. Vernon, aroused the gar-

rison and informed the commandant of his mission.  Surely,

figuratively speaking,

"The dun-deer's hide

On fleeter feet was never tried,"

for so expeditiously was the trip made that at sunrise the next

morning troops from Mt. Vernon arrived at the Mansfield block-

house, accompanied by "Johnny," who had made the round trip

of sixty miles between sunset and sunrise.

About a week before Chapman's death, while at Fort

Wayne, he heard that cattle had broken into his nursery in St.

Joseph township and were destroying his trees, and he started

on foot to look after his property.  The distance was about

twenty miles and the fatigue and exposure of the journey were

too much for "Johnny's" physical condition, then enfeebled by

age; and at the even-tide he applied at the home of Mr. Worth

for lodging for the night. Mr. Worth was a native Buckeye

and had lived in Richland county when a boy, and when he

learned that his oddly-dressed caller was "Johnny Appleseed"

gave him a cordial welcome. "Johnny" declined going to the

supper table, but partook of a bowl of bread and milk.

The day had been cold and raw with occasional flurries of

snow, but in the evening the clouds cleared away and the sun

shone warm and bright as it sank in the western sky. "Johnny"

noticed this beautiful sun-set, an augury of the spring and

flowers so soon to come and sat on the doorstep and gazed with

wistful eyes toward the west. Perhaps this herald of the spring

time, the season in which nature is resurrected from the death

of winter, caused him to look with prophetic eyes to the future

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"Johnny Appleseed."                  311

 

and contemplate that glorious event of which Christ is the res-

urrection and the life. Upon re-entering the house, "Johnny"

declined the bed offered him for the night, preferring a quilt

and pillow on the floor, but asked permission to hold family

worship and read "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is

the kingdom of Heaven," "Blessed are the pure in heart, for

they shall see God," etc.

After he had finished reading the lesson, he said prayers-

prayers long remembered by that family. He prayed for all

sorts and conditions of men; that the way of righteousness might

be made clear unto them and that saving grace might be freely

given to all nations. He asked that the Holy Spirit might guide

and govern all who profess and call themselves Christians and

that all those who were afflicted in mind, body or estate, might

be comforted and relieved, and that all might at last come to the

knowledge of the truth and in the world to come have happiness

and everlasting life. Not only the words of the prayer, but the

pathos of his voice made a deep impression upon those present.

In the morning "Johnny" was found in a high state of fever,

pneumonia having developed during the night, and the physi-

cian called said he was beyond medical aid, but inquired partic-

ularly about his religious belief, and remarked that he had never

seen a dying man so perfectly calm, for upon his wan face there

was an expression of happiness and upon his pale lips there was

a smile of joy, as though he was communing with loved ones

who had come to meet him and to soothe his weary spirit in his

dying moments. And as his eyes shone with the beautiful light

supernal God touched him with his finger and beckoned him

home.*

 

* John Chapman was buried at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in the year 1847,

according to the history of Richland county, by A. A. Graham (page

266). He had been a resident of that vicinity for some seventeen years.

He was buried by Mr. Worth and neighbors in David Archer's grave

yard, two and one-half miles north of Ft. Wayne. A letter of October

4, 19OO, from John H. Archer, grandson of David Archer, states that

the account in Mr. Graham's history is practically correct. John Archer

says in his letter:

"During his life and residence in this vicinity I suppose that every

man, woman and child knew something of "Johnny Appleseed." I find

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Thus ended the life of the man who was not only a hero,

but a benefactor as well; and his spirit is now at rest in the Par-

adise of the Redeemed, and in the fullness of time, clothed

again in the old body made anew, will enter into the Father's

house in which there are many mansions. In the words of his

own faith, his bruised feet will be healed, and he shall walk on the

gold-paved streets of the New Jerusalem of which he so elo-

quently preached.    It has been very appropriately said that

although years have come and gone since his death, the memory

of his good deeds live anew every springtime in the beauty and

fragrance of the blossoms of the apple trees he loved so well.

"Johnny Appleseed's" death was in harmony with his unos-

tentatious, blameless life. It is often remarked, "How beau-

tiful is the Christian's life; yea, but far more beautiful is the

Christian's death," when "the fashion of his countenance is

altered," as he passes from the life here to the life beyond.

What changes have taken place in the years that have inter-

vened between the "Johnny Appleseed" period and today! It

has been said that the lamp of civilization far surpasses that of

Aladdin's. Westward the star of empire took its way and

changed the forests into fields of grain and the waste places into

gardens of flowers and towns and cities have been built with

marvelous handiwork. But in this march of progress the strug-

gles and hardships of the early settlers must not be forgotten.

Let us not only record the history, but the legends of the pioneer

period; garner its facts and its fictions; its tales and traditions

and collect even the crumbs that fall from the table of the feast.

that there are quite a number of persons yet living here that remem-

ber him well and enjoy relating reminiscences and peculiarities of his

habits and life. The historical account of his death and burial by the

Worths and their neighbors, the Pettits, Goinges, Porters, Notestems,

Parkers, Beckets, Whitesides, Pechons, Hatfields, Parrants, Ballards,

Randsells and the Archers in David Archer's private burial grounds is

substantially correct. The grave, more especially the common head-

boards used in those days, have long since decayed and become entirely

obliterated, and at this time I do not think that any person could with

any degree of certainty come within fifty feet of pointing out the loca-

tion of his grave. Suffice it to say that he has been gathered in with

his neighbors and friends, as I have enumerated, for the majority of them

lie in David Archer's graveyard with him."

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"Johnny Appleseed."               313

 

To-day, the events which stirred the souls and tried the

courage of the pioneers seem to come out of the dim past and

glide as panoramic views before me. A number of the actors

in those scenes were of my "kith and kin" who have long since

crossed over the river in their journey to the land where Enoch

and Elijah are pioneers, while I am left to exclaim:

"Oh, for the touch of a vanished hand

And the sound of a voice that is still."

While the scenes of those pioneer days are vivid to us on

history's page, future generations may look upon them as the

phantasmagoria of a dream.

At 72 years of age-46 of which had been devoted to his

self-imposed mission-John Chapman ripened into death as nat-

urally and as beautifully as the apple seeds of his planting had

grown into trees, had budded into blossoms and ripened into

fruit. The monument which is now to be unveiled is a fitting

memorial to the man in whom there dwelt a comprehensive love

that reached downward to the lowest forms of life and upward

to the throne of the Divine.

At the close of Mr. Baughman's address the monument was

unveiled by Major Brown, of Mansfield, after which a quartet,

consisting of Charles H. Harding, Dr. C. N. Miles, Major Fred

S. Marquis and E. W. Dann, sang "Onward and Upward," and

the exercises closed with the singing by all present of "America."

 

 

 

"JOHNNY APPLESEED" ADDENDUM.

 

E. O. RANDALL, EDITOR.

From several sources, more or less authentic, much interest-

ing information may be collated concerning "Johnny Apple-

seed." He pursued his special calling for many years through-

out the central and eastern portions of Ohio, particularly in

Knox, Richland, Wayne and Ashland counties, or in the territory

since known as these counties, and it is from the histories of

these counties that we rely largely for fragmentary descriptions

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of the peculiar personality and eccentric experiences of John

Chapman.

The early history of John Chapman is veiled in obscurity

and for some unknown reason he never disclosed the events of

his youth. He was of New England ancestry and undoubtedly

well educated, for he was a good reader and a ready talker,

indeed at times is said to have been eloquent, especially when

discoursing upon "fine fruit and the spiritual theories of his

beloved Swedenborg," whose beliefs he espoused.

Aside from his odd hobby of planting apple seeds, which

was probably the origin of the first nurseries in this part of the

country, as well as the means of supplying the pioneers with that

popular and nutritious fruit, John Chapman was interesting

because of his strange habits, fantastic mode of attire, and

unique manner of living. His clothing was sparse, singular and

generally antique. He claimed that man should only be clothed

to conceal his nakedness and not for comfort, much less display.

His wardrobe was usually but the second hand refuse garments

which he had taken in exchange for young apple trees. At times

his main garment consisted of a coffee sack, through apertures

of which he might thrust his head and arms. On one occasion

it is reported a pair of shoes was given him which shortly after-

wards he offered to a barefooted western traveler, who he said

needed them worse than he. For a hat or covering he wore

for a long time a tin pan, which he would use, as occasion re-

quired, in the cooking of his frugal meal. This was subse-

quently superseded by a head covering of a pasteboard "tile" so

cut as to give a wider rim on one side than the other, this to

protect his features from the glare of the sun. In this anom-

alous attire he traversed the country visiting the natives for the

purpose of plying his appleseed profession. His gentleness of

manner and generosity of disposition, always made him a wel-

come guest wherever he was known, and whenever he would

accept hospitality, which was seldom. But in his ideas of living

and of society he was the pioneer Thoreau of his times. He

preferred to live alone. He enjoyed the solitude of the woods

and the companionship of the forest animals rather than that of

a fellow-man. While traversing the woods in which he spent

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"Johnny Appleseed."               315   a large part of his time, he carried with him an axe, a hatchet and a Virginia hoe, with which he cleared the underbrush, and dug in the loamy or rich soil, usually along the banks of some stream. In these cleared spots he would plant his apple seeds and start a nursery. While most of this work was done pro bono publico it was also his only source of subsistence. With a restless and roving disposition he kept moving from point to point scattering his nurseries along the streams or highways for even hundreds of miles. He seldom sold his wares for money, but usually exchanged them for such articles of clothing or food as he actually needed. We were so fortunate as to obtain an auto- graph order of John Chapman, which we here produce.

His diet was that of the vegetarian. His meals consisted of berries, nuts, the native fruits of the country and little corn bread or mush made from meal, for which he had traded a handful of apple seeds. In philosophy he was a stoic, and assumed to bear pain with stolid indifference. If he bruised or wounded his foot among stones or thorns, it is said his first remedial application was a red hot iron to the afflicted part, by which it was seared. He was an intense lover of every variety of God's creatures, and to kill even the most repellant or useless form of animal life for any purpose, was to him a sin. If he saw an animal maltreated, or heard of it, he would buy it and give it to some more humane settler, with the condition that it be kindly treated. He de- served to be the patron saint of the Humane Society, of which

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he was certainly the earliest forerunner. Emigrants who trav-

eled from the east to the west passing in his vicinity would

often cast off their decrepit or worn out horses, leaving them

to starve or forage for themselves. As the blight of winter

drew near, Chapman would corral these outcast brutes and

bargain for their care and protection with some farmer until the

coming spring. It is further recorded that he would never sell

these poor and despised animals, but if any of them recovered

their strength, so as to be valuable, he would lend them or give

them away, exacting a promise from the recipient that the dumb

beast should ever receive kind treatment. This sympathy with

the lower life and sacred respect for its existence was carried in

"Johnny Appleseed" to an almost preposterous extent. At one

time in relating the circumstance of being bitten by a rattle snake

he said: "Poor fellow, he only just touched me when I in the

heat of my ungodly passion put the heel of my scythe in him

and went away. Some time afterward I went back and there

lay the poor fellow dead." That death was the cause of deep

regret to Johnny, and he never referred to it without the feeling

of great sorrow. At one time when camping out he kindled a

fire for the comforts of home, when he noticed that the blaze was

a drawing card for a large audience of mosquitoes, "seeking

whom they might devour." Many of these naturally were lured

into the flames and burned. Chapman, without delay, brought

water from a near stream or spring and extinguished the fire,

saying, "God forbid that I should build a fire for my comfort

which should be the means of destroying any of his creatures."

At another time he started a fire near a hollow log in the dead

of winter, when he discovered that within the log a bear and

cubs had taken refuge. Rather than disturb the peaceful slum-

bers of bruin and family he put out the fire and spent the night

upon the snow. Many similar instances might be related of his

self-sacrifice and even endangerment of life, in behalf of the pro-

tection and preservation of the humblest creatures of the prime-

val forest. The most cursory knowledge of the life and belief of

"Johnny Appleseed" is convincing as to his innate tenderness of

heart and childlike simplicity of faith. He loved nature in all

her forms with a passionate devotion. It is everywhere to be

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"Johnny Appleseed."                   317

 

inferred, where not actually stated, that in spite of his grotesque

apparel, unnatural manner of living and crude method of dealing,

he was nevertheless greatly respected by all who came in con-

tact with him. Indeed some of his would be biographers have

the testimony of those who knew him, that he was a man of

strong character, deep philosophy, and solely impelled by the

motives of humanity and benevolence.     His religious tenets,

such as they were, were not "orthodox," but were the essence

of primitive Christianity, namely, love thy neighbor as thyself.

Like Thoreau, he did not wish to acquire property. He had

no use for worldly goods. He constantly gave away, for the

welfare of others, whatever possessions he might acquire. His

purchase of three acres of land in Ashland county-in what is

now known as the little town of Lake Fork-is the single and

isolated instance in which Chapman ever invested any surplus

capital in real estate. It is an odd sequence that the deed to

Chapman was lost before being recorded, and the tract was

never transferred upon the Auditor's books. Chapman started a

nursery upon the land, which, upon his leaving it, passed to other

hands through the defect in the title. John Chapman was a

marvelous and paradoxical mixture of noble and unconventional

traits. It is a pity that we have not a complete account of his

life replete as it undoubtedly was with good deeds. He was a

benefactor of his race. He served his day and generation to the

best of his ability and opportunity. No man could do better.

 

So he kept traveling, far and wide,

"Till his old limbs failed him and he died.

He said, at last: "'Tis a comfort to feel

I've done some good in the world, though not a great deal."

Weary travelers, journeying West,

In the shade of his trees find pleasant rest.

And often they start with glad surprise

At the rosy fruit that around them lies.

And if they inquire whence came such trees,

Where not a bough once swayed in the breeze,

The reply still comes, as they travel on,

"These trees were planted by Appleseed John."

(From the poem "Appleseed John," by Lydia Maria Child.)

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