Johnny Appleseed

Appleseed, Johnny, the nickname of John Chapman (1774-1845), a United States pioneer. For almost 50 years, Chapman traveled in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, planting seeds (especially apple seeds) and tending orchards he helped settlers establish along the frontier. His eccentric way of life inspired many legends. He reputedly wore ragged clothes, went barefoot, lived in the wild, and ate no meat. He was also a religious mystic, and would read aloud from the Bible and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg to those who would listen. Chapman was noted for his kindness to animals and people. He gained a hero's reputation during the War of 1812, when he raced some 30 miles (48 km) one night to warn backwoods settlers near Mansfield, Ohio, of an impending Indian attack.

Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. He set out for the frontier about 1792.