John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed ********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ********************************************************************** Copied and submitted by Janet Waite 1999 Source: Bicentennial Salute West Virginia's 200 Years Bicentennial Supplement West Virginia Hillbilly Year and Page 1811 Richwood, West Virginia Calls Himself Johnny Appleseed Plants Orchards on Frontier As farmers and orchardists munch on "some of the finest eating apples I ever sunk a tooth in" along the Ohio River from Parkersburg to Wheeling they give silent prayer to the strangest individual who ever walked the soil of Western Virginia. That man, now an American legend after passing this way but six years ago, is identified as John Chapman, although most people know him by his nickname of Johnny Appleseed. Born around 1775, Chapman developed a largenursery near Pittsburgh Landing where he sold or gave saplings and apple seeds to families migrating westward. Many such scions found their way to the Ohio River farms and now this year are bearing fruit. And what has happened to Johnny Appleseed in the meantime? The answer is that he left Pittsburgh Landing, let his hair grow long, dressed int he attire of the frontiersman, and walked his way into Legend, reading his Bible on the way. He became a fried of the Indians, who let him come and go as he pleased. He became a friend of all humankind, and of animals. Once he reproved an Indian walking companion for killing the rattlesnake which bit Johnny. "He didn't mean to harm me," he said. Another time he extinguished his camp fire because it was burning to death the gnats. Everywhere he goes he leaves apple seeds or plantings. He prefers to sleep out of doors, and while he will accept man's companionship, that is all. He never eats with his hosts, preferring to cook his own. He uses neither tea nor coffee, declaring that if you intend to go to heaven, you need to practice up for the kind of life up there. And there you get only milk and honey to eat, so that is about all that Johnny Appleseed consures here on earth. Except, well, maybe apples.