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Sep 26, 2024 · Johnny Appleseed, American missionary nurseryman of the North American frontier who helped prepare the way for 19th-century pioneers by supplying apple-tree nursery stock through the Midwest. His real name was John Chapman. Learn more about his life and work.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- HE WAS A CHILD OF WAR. Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774, John Chapman grew up in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, in which his father served as a minuteman at the Battle of Bunker (Breeds) Hill and helped construct the defenses of New York against British invasion with George Washington.
- HE WAS NO MEANDERING PLANTER. Chapman developed as an orchardist and nurseryman, and by the early 1800s was working on his own. While his legend imagines him as a messy nomad, in reality, Chapman was much more pragmatic.
- HIS APPLES WEREN'T FOR EATING. The apples that Chapman favored for planting were small and tart "spitters"—named for what you'd likely do if you took a bite of one.
- HIS SIG NATURE LOOK IS PRETTY TRUE TO LIFE. Chapman was often noted for his threadbare clothes and preference for bare feet. But these eccentricities may have been offerings to his faith, the Church of Swedenborg (also known as The New Church), a Christian denomination established in 1787.
Sep 6, 2018 · While he seemed like a perfect storybook legend, he was actually a real person and his name was John Chapman. The real story of Johnny Appleseed is a little weirder than anything taught in schools.
Oct 22, 2016 · But how did John Chapman, the actual (strange, possibly insane) person behind the legend, become this virtuous frontier character? It took a good century after Chapman’s death to fully root out his true biography, William Kerrigan explains in “The Invention of Johnny Appleseed.”
Nov 10, 2014 · During Prohibition, apple trees that produced sour, bitter apples used for cider were often chopped down by FBI agents, effectively erasing cider, along with Chapman's true history, from...
- Natasha Geiling
Sep 18, 2024 · For starters, Johnny Appleseed’s real name was not Johnny Appleseed, but John Chapman. And while it’s true that Chapman spent his life planting apples, his motives weren’t as wholesome as some poems suggest.
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Apr 2, 2014 · Johnny Appleseed is a folk hero based on frontier nurseryman John Chapman, who established orchards throughout the American Midwest.
