:
d
Joh nny A p p l ese e
Th e
B e h i nd
Th e
M y th
by
St e ve n For t r i ed e
M an
A BOUT THE
C O V E RS
C OVE R s h ow s t he st o ne er ec t e d
1 93 5
by t he F o rt Wa yne Opti m i st C l u b o v er t he supp o s ed
gr a ve sit e o f John Chapm a n i n t he A rche r C em et er y
F RON T
.
BA C K C O V E R s how s th e st one e r ec t e d by
W e s l e y S Ro ebuck ov er t he s upp o s e d g r av e sit e o f
J oh n C h apm a n o n t he R o ebuck far m
T HE
.
.
:
d
Th e
Joh nny A p p l e se e
B e h i nd
Th e
M yth
by
St even F or tr i e d e
F ort W a yne P ubl i c Libr a ry
1 97 8
M an
C O NT ENT S
Page
1
II
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III
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IV
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V
VI
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E arly Year s
1
The Ohi o F ront i er
7
The Sw e d enb o rg ian Mi s s i o nary
11
M yt h s in t he M a king
15
W e stw a rd t o Indi a na
19
De at h and Buri a l
22
N ot e s
30
and Re fer enc e s
A ppend ix
37
A C K N OW L E DG M EN T
The aut hor recognize s hi s debt t o
D r Robe rt Pric e who s e m any year s
o f ca re fu l re s e a rch and st udy pub
l i s h e d in Johnny Apple s eed
Man and
Myt h ( Ind ian a Univer s ity Pre s s 1 9
gui ded a nd a ided th e prepar ation o f t hi s
pam p h l et
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F O R EW O R D
John Chapm a n w a s on e of A m eri c a s authent i c
pi o neer hero e s a c ont emporary of m en suc h a s
Da ni e l Boone and Da vy Crockett He plant ed hi s fir st
apple s eed s a s a b oy about the t im e W a s hingt on wa s
e l ec t ed Pre s ident and hi s la st a s an ol d m an about the
t im e Lincoln wa s elec t e d to C ongre s s He m oved into
Ohio be for e Secret ary of Stat e Jam e s Monroe bought
Loui s i a n a from the F ren c h
By the t im e he died in
Indiana in 1 84 5 Texa s had been a nn exed the frontier
had pu s hed acro s s t he Mi s s i s s ipp i and ou t in C ali
f or n i a C a ptain John Sutt er had built hi s fo r t and wa s
l o oking around f o r a likely locat ion for a s awm i ll
Yet m o st people know le s s fact and m ore m yt h
abo ut John Chapm an t han about any other c haract er in
A m e rican hi s t ory Som e t hi nk he wa s only a st ory or
a folk t a l e ; the re s t if t hey know him at all know
him as Johnny App l e s eed
Thi s pam phle t pre s ent s s om e of t he fa ct s about
John Chapm an It i s prim a rily ba s ed on Robert Price s
book Johnny App l e s eed _
Man- and
M
publi
shed
in
th
y
_ —
In t hi s pamph l et w e w i lT eX arfi n e som e of the
1 95 4
m yt h s and st orie s whi c h sprang up around thi s fron
t ier s m an W e w ill t ry t o t race the st orie s ba c k to
t heir s ourc e s to s how where t hey originat ed h ow
they developed int o m yt h s and how they have been
"
"
pe r pet uat ed a s fact s in the Johnny A pple s eed st ory
Som e o f t he se s t o rie s are very ol d
Many of them
w ere fi r s t t old ar o und t he hearth s and campfir e s of
t he earlie st s ett le rs of Ohio even while Johnn y w a s
st ill alive By the t im e t hey cam e t o be wr itten dow n
t he m em orie s of t he orig inal st oryt eller s had be c om e
a bit haz y and t heir im agination s had begun t o fill in
the m i s s ing det ai ls
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I
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EA RLY YEA RS
Th e st or yt e ll er s generally have Johnny born
s om ewhere in M as sa chu s ett s C o nn e c ti c ut or P e nn s y l
vani a
More t h a n a doz en pla c e s claim hi s birth ; in
1 7 6 8 or 1 7 7 4 o r 1 7 7 5 or 1 7 87
but alm o st alw a ys
in t he s pring of t he year
Every st o ryt el l er t ryi ng
t o find s om e p ort ent of t he new baby s fut ure fam e
m ent ions t he beautiful apple blo s s o m s which gar
l anded hi s b irth In s om e ver s ion s the w ind blow s
t he bough s aga in st t he w indow of t he nur s ery ; som e
t im e s t he ba by John reache s fo r the branche s out s ide
t he w ind ow and s om et im e s the blo s s om s are a bouquet
picked by a l oving h u sband to gra c e the bed s ide of a
be l ove d w i fe A lw a y s there ar e apple b l o s s om s
John Ch apm a n w a s actu al ly born in Leom in st er
1
There wa sn t
Ma s s a ch us ett s on Sept em ber 2 6 1 7 7 4
an apple blo s som in sight
Hi s father Natha ni el
Ch apm an wa s a farm er and carpent er but he w a s
a ppar ent l y no great s u c ce s s at eith er t rade
The
Chapm ans l ived in a sm all rented hou s e in Leom in s ter
The hou s e ha s l ong s inc e di sappear ed although the
s ight w a s m arked in 1 94 0 by t he Leom ins t er B i c e nte n
2 Soon after t he birt h of the baby John
ni a l Com m i tt ee
Nat ha ni e l Ch apm an enli st ed in t he C ontinental A rm y
He w a s on e of t he original Minut em en fought at
Bunk er Hi ll suffe red thr o ugh the w int er at Valley
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F orge and w a s event ually di s charged fr om the
s ervice becaus e of so m e que st ion re g arding m i s
3
m anagem ent of m ilit ary st ore s ent ru s t ed to hi s care
John s m o ther w a s Elizabeth Sim ond s al s o of
Leom in st e r a frai l w om an w ho s e s oldier hu s band
le ft her t o m anag e t he hou s ehold and c a re for t h e
inf a nt John a nd hi s o lder s i st er a l so nam e d E l izabe t h
Eliz abe t h Ch a pm an the m ot her die d July 1 8 1 77 6
short ly a ft er de l ivering her th ir d chi ld a boy n a m ed
4
Nat hani e l who al s o die d w ithin a few w eek s
W e do not kn ow w hat happened to t he tw o y o ung
Ch a pm an chi l dren Elizabeth only s ix a nd J o hn n ot yet
t w o but t he y probably s t ayed w it h re lat i v e s in the
area
B ot h t he Chapm a n and Sim onds fam i li e s h a d
long been e s t a bli s he d in Le om ins t er and t here w ere
m a ny aunt s and c ou s in s nearby
In Ju ly 1 7 80 N at hanie l w a s m arrie d ag a in thi s
5
where he t o o k
t im e to L u cy C oo l e y o f Longm ead ow
up r e s i d enc e
e a r s t en
I n t h e next t w enty t w o
chi l dren w ere b o rn t o Nat h a nie l and Luc
The l itt l e
fram e hou s e al re a d y o l d in 1 7 8 0 but st i ll sta nd i ng
in 1 950 rapidly g r ew so crow ded t h at t he o l de st boy
m ight w el l have been encoura g ed t o l ea v e h o m e a s
s oo n a s he cou ld m ake hi s w a y in the w or ld
In de e d t he det a i l s of yo ung J ohn s life up u nt i l
1 7 97 a r e c o mp l et e ly l o s t except to t he i m ag ina t i o n s
o f t he st oryt e ll er s
Pe rh ap s t he m o st pe rs i s t e nt
st o r y from t h i s peri o d i s t hat John att ende d Harvard
C o ll ege gradu at ing w it h honor s a cc o r d ing t o s om e
s our c e s
Th i s m yth appar ent ly h a d it s orig in in a purely
fic t i o nal n o vel ent itl ed The Que s t o f John Ch apm an
publ i s hed in 1 904
Thi s st or y m ake s J o hn s fat her a
Ma s s achu s ett s c le r ic and John him s el f a m ini s t e r ial
s tudent at Ha rv ard The Harvard s t or y w a s r etold
and s om e quit e s eriou s biographe r s perhap s t r yi ng
t o ac c ount for J o hnny s rem a rkable int el l igenc e and
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unde rst anding of relig i ous doctrine s seized on it
and perpetuat ed it as fa c t
The fa ct i s that a c on
s i d e r ab l e am ount of
s earching over the year s ha s
fai l ed t o turn up any record of Johnny a s a student at
7
Harvard
The Que st of John Ch a pm an a l s o provide s an
example of a not her recurring them e in t he Joh nn y
A pple s e ed myth t he lo s t love
Even t he earlie st of
th e w rit t en recol l ection s som e s et dow n only t en or
fi ft een ye a r s aft er hi s death c ont ain vague allu sion s
t o an un happy l ove affair None of t he se can be do c u
m e nt e d
It m a y be t hat the r eal so ur c e for t he st orie s
i s t he d e sire of t he s t oryt e l ler s t o account for the
eccent ricit ie s of a st range o ld ba chelor In any c a s e
t he form o f the st o ry which i s m o s t w idely told i s
exem p l i fie d in The Que s t : Johnny love s on e Dorothy
Du ra nd but their t w o fam ilie s ar e bit t er enem ie s a
di fference o f t heologi c al O pinions and the lover s are
s eparat ed The Durand s m ove w e st and Johnny set s
o ut to s e a rch for hi s be l oved
He finally locate s th e
fa m ily o n ly to learn t hat Dor othy ha s died s ho rt ly
befo re of a br o ken he a rt
Other author s follow the
s am e s equenc e of event s but change the nam e of the
gir l
Henr y Per s hing in hi s purport ed biography of
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ca l led her S a rah Crawford and had
he r re u nit e d wit h Johnny but dying on their w edding
d ay The s e s t o rie s a ll c lo s e by a s s e rt ing t hat m any
y ear s l at er Johnn y ret urned to plant apple blo s som s
over t he gr a ve
The d et ai l ed r ec ord of John Chapm an s a c tivitie s
a s a yo ung m an i s yet t o be di sc overed but the
g enera l t rend of hi s yo ung life can be i nfer red
Som eti m e before 1 7 97 Joh nn y learned to r ead and w rit e
ve ry w e l l
He lea r ned s om ething abo ut t he c ulture
and propa gat ion o f fr u it t ree s
He learned h ow to
l i sh ed
in
1 93 0 ,
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He em braced t h e re l igi o u s doc t rine s o f Em a nu e l
Sw edenborg
Som e ear l y sto rie s sa y t hat Johnny w a s app r e n
t ic ed t o an orchardi st or t hat he s pent s evera l y e a r s
a round 1 7 90 w orking a s a Sw edenborgian m is s i o na ry
along t he P ot om a c Rive r Th e s e ta le s m ay h av e s om e
ba s i s i n fac t but Henr y Per shing s s t o r y t hat J o hn w a s
c e rt i fied a m i ni st e r at t he C o nf e renc e of t he Sw eden
The
b or gi an Church in B o s t on in 1 7 86 i s pu r e bunk
fi r s t Ge ne ra l Convent ion of t he New Jerus a l em in t h e
Unit ed St at e s o f A m eri c a w a s n ot held unt il May
8
by which t im e John w a s a w i d e l y know n a nd
1 81 7
re s p ect ed Sw ede nb o rg i a n In 1 7 86 he would have been
t w elve ye a r s ol d t oo young fo r even t he m o st pr ec o
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c i ou s m
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M a ny st ori e s r elat e differ ent ver si on s o f John s
beginni ng s a s a n it iner a nt nu r s e r y m an b ut t he ear l ie st
r ea s on a bly re l i a ble acc ount brings John on st age
in t h e m i d dl e o f a freak s n ow st o rm s o m ew her e in
t he w i ld w e st ern w ilderne s s of Penn s yl vani a i n Oct o
ber 1 7 97 on hi s w a y t o t he new tow n of W arren w hich
then c o n s i st ed o f a singl e l og bu i l ding
Thi s a cc ount
9
It i s
w a s w ritt en i n 1 85 3 by Judge Lan s i ngW etm or e
apparent ly not ba s ed on fir s t hand evi denc e
as
Judge W et m o r e d id n ot c om e i nt o t he a r ea unt i l 1 81 5
but t he j udge di d draw on the m em orie s o f t he earlier
re s ident s and he him s e l f s aw t he rem ain s o f o ne
W et m o r e w ho wa s
of J o hnny s e a r ly nu r s erie s
int er e st ed in rec ording m any a s pect s o f t he e a r ly
hi st o ry of the W ar ren area s eem s to have kept
c l o s e l y t o the v e r ifiab l e t r ut h F u rt her evide nce that
Judge W etm o r e w a s h o ne st l y r ec o rd ing l oc a l hi sto r y
and not m ere ly s e eki ng t o appropri at e so m e of t h e
g l ory of t he Apple s eed l egend a s d id s o m a ny l at er
"
w rit er s i s t hat he never once u s ed t he nam e Johnn y
"
A pp l e s eed
Eit her he h a d neve r heard o f t he nick
n a m e or h e never c o nnec t ed it wit h th e Jo hn Ch apm an
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who plant ed apple s in Warren
The only hard ; that i s do c um ent ary evidenc e
whi c h m ight c onfirm Johnny s p re s enc e in the Warren
Pennsyl vania a r ea i s the ledger of a nearby t rading
po st whi c h show s s evera l ent rie s f or a John Chap m an
1
0
around t he yea r 1 7 9 8
There i s how ever n o
definit e proof t hat thi s w a s the s am e John Chapm an
who becam e know n a s Johnny Apple s eed
Johnny did not st ay lo ng in the W arren area
"
Judge W etm o re s narrative c onc lude s
The dem and
for fr u it t ree s being lim it ed and unable to obt ain a
li v e l ihood by hi s favorit e p u r suit he w ent t o F ra nk l i n
"
W her e he e s t abli s hed another nur s e ry
It i s at F ranklin about 1 800 that hi st orians ar e
fir s t ab l e to docum ent and chro nic l e the activitie s of
J o hn Ch apm an
Hi s n am e appear s s everal t im e s in
t rading po st ledger s He show s up in t he 1 80 0 c ensu s
of V e n ago C ount y a ct u al ly completed in April 1 80 1
l iving alone in I rw in Township a few m ile s southw e st
1
1
In 1 804 at F ra nklin John signed tw o
of F ra nklin
ea c h for on e h undred dollar s ; on e in favor of
I OU s
t he c hildren of Elizabeth Rudd hi s si st er ; and the
"
"
o t he r in favo r o f Nathanie l Chapm an although it i s
n ot c lear w hether the Nathaniel referr ed t o wa s John s
2
1
fat he r o r hi s h a l f -broth er a l s o cal l ed Nathani el
Thi s s econd not e t o Natha niel c ontains the
fir s t docum ent ar y e vi denc e of John s int ere st in apple
"
t ree s It read s in part I prom i se to pay Nathani el
Ch apm an
t he s um of on e hundred dollar s in land
or app l e t ree s
Num erou s st or ie s
incl uding s om e s eriou s
biographie s pla c e John in Pit t sburgh during the lat e
F requent ly they have him working in the boat
1 7 90 s
y ard s bui lding t he flatbo at s us ed by early m igrant s
Ther e m ay be a grain o f fact behind s om e of thes e
st or ie s John s wher eabout s in the early 1 7 90 s from
the t im e he left hi s father s hom e in Longm e adow
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u nti l hi s appearanc e in th at m o unt a in snow sto rm ne a r
W ar ren in 1 7 97 ar e tot a l l y unkn ow n
He m ay v ery
w ell have been t rave l ing in t he Pit t s bu rgh a r e a
a lthough it i s doubt fu l t hat he he l d a st e ady j o b t her e
One piec e of d o cum enta ry e v idenc e w hich m ight p la c e
John in th e Pitt s burgh a rea do e s exi st
In 1 7 94 a
John Chapm an ( n o pr o va ble c o nn ect ion ) t ook a n o at h
of a ll eg iance to t he new Unit e d St at e s in Som er s et
Tow n s hip W a s hingt on C ounty a few m il e s s out hw e st
3
1
of Pitt s burgh
The full de v el o pm ent of t he Pitt s bu rgh st o ry
w hich h a s Joh nn y run ning a s ort of t ra v e l e rs a id
st at i o n for m igrant s in th e city of Pitt s bur gh a nd
inci d enta l ly handing ou t l ittl e l e at he r b ags o f app l e
s eed s t o t he new s ett ler s c a n be tr ac e d to a n ov e l
titl ed Johnny A pple s eed th e R o m anc e o f t he Sow e r
w ritt en in 1 91 5 b y Mr s E l e a nor A t k i n so n
Th e
R o m anc e w as a n ot her p u re ly fic tio n al b oo k but l ike
s o m a ny ot he r sto rie s it c o ntai ne d j ust e n ough l ogi c
hi sto ric a l fa c t a nd c o n vincing d e t ai l t h at it w a s
w ide ly acc ept e d a s the wh o l e t r ut h a nd not h i ng but t he
t r uth
No deed o r ot her r ec or d of la nd ow ne d by J o hnn y
"
in Penn s ylva nia h as yet been fou nd
It i s p ro b a b l e
th at John never suc ceeded i n e sta b li s h i ng t itl e to a ny
P e nn s ylva n ia l and so it i s al m o st im po s s ib l e t o tra c e
t he l oc at i o n s of th e e arly nu rs erie s
E a r ly c o u nty
hi sto rie s reli a b l y lo c at e one o rch a rd p o s si bl y hi s
fi r st o n Big B r oke n s tr aw C reek in W arr en C o unty
a nd a nother on F rench C reek ne ar the tow n of F ra nkl in
in Ve n ago C ount y
B ot h o f t he s e nu r s e rie s w e r e i n
O perat ion d uring t he per io d ro ugh ly fr o m 1 7 97 o r
1 7 98 t o 1 8 04
L e s s r eli a b l e s o ur c e s a nd l o ca l t radi
t i ons t e ll of other nur s e rie s s c att e r e d a ro und t he
genera l area
John s eem s t o h a ve l oc at e d hi s n ur
s er i e s ne a r t he m ai n s ettl em ent rout e s and then
t r ave l e d fr o m one t o a n ot her t o c a r e fo r t he t ree s
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6
m ore bushe l s int o apple butt er
App l e c i d er by t he
barrel one s our c e e st im at e s s even t o t en barrel s or
1
8
w a s pre s s ed at
2 5 0 gal l ons for a large fa m i ly
c omm unit y c ider m il l s
M a ny m o re barrel s of c ider
"
"
w e re di stilled int o apple brandy ca ll e d app l ej ack
on t he front i er
A pp l ej a ck had t he vi rt ue of c om
m a nding a m uch higher pric e in r elat ion to it s w eight
and bulk than alm o st any ot her pr odu c t gr ow n i n t he
w e s t a fac t w hich m a de it an i m po rt ant ca s h am p for
expo r t in t he d a s wh en all t ransp o rt w a s prim it ive
1
y
and exp en si v e
So im po rta nt w a s a pp l e grow ing
c ons idered t hat in s om e part s o f Ohio a new settl e r
w a s requi r ed t o plant a c e rt ain num ber of t ree s fift y
o r m or e befo re he c ou l d recei v e t he fu ll t itl e t o hi s
2
0
land
W it h a guarant ee d m arket and an ever -grow i ng
num ber of c usto m er s m any nur s erym en w er e d r aw n
t o the new stat e of Ohi o
John Chapm an w a s by no
m ean s the o n ly s e ll er o f a pp l e t re e s in the new t erri
t o r y ; he w a s not even t he fir st By 1 7 96 Rufu s Put n a m
had an ext en s i v e orcha rd con s i st ing of m a ny v a riet ie s
2
1
of high qua l it y gr a fted t ree s locat e d near M a riett a
In 1 808 W a s hingt on C o unty a r ound M ariet t a c ount e d
7 7 4 acr e s o f fr uit t ree s
Nor w ere Johnny s a pp l e t r ee s of t he be s t qu a lit y
Johnny s t ead f a st ly re fus e d t o im pro v e a n y o f hi s t ree s
by g raft ing go od qu al ity br a nche s onto t he s ee dl ing
r oot s a c om m o n a nd w e ll -know n p rac ti c e e v en on t he
fr ont i er In st ead Jo hn i n s i st ed o n grow i ng hi s t ree s
st ric tly fr om s eed even t ho ugh h e m u st have know n
th at t ree s grow n in t hi s m anne r w ill alm o st c e rt ainl y
p r o duc e i nferio r fruit
The a d va nt age s t h at Johnny enj o yed o ve r hi s
c om pet it ion w er e tw o ; volum e and a s en s e of lo c a
"
t ion what R o be rt P r ic e c all ed st r at egic g eog
" 22
N O ot her orchardi st p l ant e d a s m any
r ap h y
nu r s erie s a s did John a nd no ot he r orch a rd i st loc at ed
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hi s nur s erie s s o c arefully alw ays j ust ahead of the
fir st s ett ler s in an area and frequently "
u st where a
new c enter of population w ould s pring up
The li s t of Johnny s verified nur serie s i n Ohio
i s long and there i s hardly a c it y t ow n or c ountry
c ro s sroad s throughout cent ral Ohio that doe s n ot
"
c laim in it s l o c al tradition s th at Johnny Apple seed
"
plant ed t ree s here
In hi s biography of Chapm an
P ric e li st ed in Ohio alone t hirty nur s erie s for whi c h
he c ould lo c at e at lea st on e reliable early referenc e
The s e w ere e st ab l i s hed nu r se rie s u s ually O perated
over a period of s everal year s and given regular
c are It a l so appear s that Johnny wa s in the habit of
m aking ot her planting s wherever he happened t o be
in hi s w andering s perhap s at the hom e of a farm e r
who ga ve him lodging for the m ght or simply in a
natura l clearing in the w ood s no m att er w h o ow ned
the land
Judging from t he re c ord s available to us it wa s
app a r ent ly John s pra c t ice to scout a likely lo c ation
for a nur s ery and then to beg buy or lea s e a plot of
ground on whi c h t o plant hi s t ree s
He w ould c lear
t he ground prepare the soil ere ct a fenc e to keep
out brow s i ng cattle and deer and plant hi s seed s
c arefully gat hered from c ider m ill s in the m ore
s ett led ar ea s he had j us t left If the nur s ery w a s to
be a m aj or one Johnny frequent ly w ould build a
lean to or rough cabin t o provide him s elf w ith shelter
or w oul d arrange to board w ith a nearby farm er
S o m e idea of the tim e involved m ay be dedu c ed
from a bill for boarding subm itt ed to John s ad m i ni s
In 1 8 36
Johnny bought
tr at or s aft er hi s death
s eventy - four a c re s of land in W aba sh Townsh i p
or
f
C
ounty
Indiana
The
next
year
John
boarded
Ja y
tw elve w eek s w it h Jo s eph Hill w h o lived near thi s
land
In 1 83 8 he s t a yed eight een w eek s and in 1 83 9
t en w eeks
In 1 84 0 and for the year s fol l ow m g
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up unt il hi s death he s tayed only tw o t hre e or four
23
w eek s
P re sum ably the s e fir st three year s w e re
t aken up in t he m aj or labo r of e stabli s hing t he nur sery
aft er whi c h it r equir ed only periodi c care and m ain
Mo s t likely thi s patt ern w a s repeat ed t im e
t e nan c e
and again at other nu r s e ry lo c at ions
Ex c ept for t w o t ow n lot s purcha s e d in 1 80 9 in
new ly platt ed Mo u nt Vernon no rec ord exi st s t hat
John fo r m al l y obt ained t it le t o any land during hi s
early days in Ohio
It i s probable that up unt il 1 8 1 4
John w a s c onc ent rat ing on pl a nt ing hi s t ree s
or 1 8 1 5
on land already ow ned by ot her farm e r s who c ould
be r eli ed on t o w atc h over t he t ree s in return for a
o
share f the new grow n s eedling s
On M ay 3 1 1 8 1 4 John c hanged hi s m e t ho d of
O perat ions and began t he fir st of a s erie s of s ixt een
verifiable land a c qui s itions
E vent ually he boug ht or
lea s ed and s om et im e s forfe it ed or s o l d m ore t han
eleven hundr ed a c re s of land and s ix t ow n lot s
s om et i m e s pa yi ng w ith the prom i s e of apple t ree s but
m or e O ft en paying c a sh in hand De s pit e t he cu st om
ary po rt rayal of him a s a m an living in pove rty
eat ing o nl y t he m o st m eager fo od and w earing ragged
c lothing John w a s a m an of c onsiderab l e sub sta nc e
spe c ially in rare ready c a sh ; a lt hough he u se d hi s
w ealth for c harity and to further hi s w ork not for hi s
ow n p er sonal c omfo rt
In C in c innat i m arke t s in 1 806 t he pri c e o f a
s eedling apple t ree hover ed bet w een s ix and s even
c ent s 2 4 whi c h se em s t o s upport the price whi c h
"
Johnny t radit ional l y c harged for hi s t ree s a fip
"
penny bit w hi c h w a s w o rt h about six and on e ha lf
2
5
c ent s in Ohio at t hat t im e
The s e sam e t radit ion s
a l so ins i s t that if t he purcha ser w a s unabl e t o pay in
c a sh Johnny w ould w il l ingly a cc ept c a st -off c lot hing
a bit of c o r nm eal or even a prom i s e t o pa y at s om e
unsp e c ified t im e in th e fut ure
He w a s repo rt ed t o
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4
have given t r ee s t o needy fam ilie s oft en w ith a gi ft
of m oney a s w ell
S everal do c um ent s pert aining t o Johnny s bus i
ne s s dealings have c om e down to u s
A n order for
t ree s from one of hi s nur s erie s wa s di s c overed in
1 95 2 in the po s s e s s ion O f Mr s Gra c e Culler of Shiloh
Ohio a ni e c e of the Ro sella Ri c e who se re c olle c tions
2
6
of John have added so m uc h to the Apple s eed m yt h
The order dat ed A ugu s t 2 1 1 8 1 8 at Ri c hland County
i s obvious ly addre s s ed to the c aretaker at on e of
"
Johnny s nur s erie s
It read s
Mr Mart in Ma son :
Sir plea s e t o let Eben Ric e or bearer have th i r ty
eight apple tree s and y ou w ill obl ige your friend
"
John Chapm an
A nother order n ow in the po s s e s sion
of the Mansfi eld Boy S c out s
i s dat ed O ct ober 1 81 2
"
and read s in part
F or value re c eived I prom i s e t o
p ay
Benj am in Burrell on e hundre d and fifty
apple t r ee s at m y nur sery near John But ler s and the
m outh of the Mohic an su c h a s they are when c alled
"
A not e dat ed A ugust 2 5 1 820 read s simply
for
"
Mr Odle : ple a s e to let Ebenezer Ri c e have the
"
h oop s
Nobody know s what it m ight have m eant
Not e s and order s such a s the se along w ith a num ber
of lea s e s de ed s t ax re c ord s and vot er s li st s p r o
vide the fram ew ork of fac t s upon which that whi c h i s
de finit e l y kn own about Johnny s a ct ivit ie s ha s been
built
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III
.
THE SW E DE N B ORGIA N MISSIONA RY
Mo s t people t oday rem em ber John Chapm an only
for hi s ap p l e s e e d s and 11 1 8 c harity
In hi s ow n t im e
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,
but throughout hi s adult life he w a s a follow er of th e
beliefs of Em anuel Sw edenborg
Sw edenborg w a s a
brilliant eight eenth c ent ury s c ient i st and philo sopher
who s e inve st igat ion s led him t o believe in a spiritual
w orld c lo s ely paralleling the real one a w orld in
whi c h ea c h per s on had a c orre s ponding s pirit ua l ex
Sw edenborg
i s t e n ce whi c h c ont inued after hi s de a th
a l s o t aught that the w a y t o happine s s in t he spiritua l
w orld w a s t o live a life of s ervic e a nd s elf denial in
2
7
thi s on e
The d o ct rine s w ere com pli c at ed and t he
religion w a s one which appealed m ainly t o i nte l l e c
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t u al s
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It i s w ell know n that John lived hi s life i n
accordanc e w it h t he s e t eaching s but i t i s not know n
when he fir st accept ed th em C on s equently t he s t ory
of hi s c onver s io n t o Sw ede nb orgi a ni s m h a s be c om e a
favorit e one for im a ginative st oryt e ll er s
Henry
Per shing w rot e t hat John fir s t becam e a c quaint ed w ith
Sw edenborg s t eaching s dur ing tho se m yt hica l ye a r s
at Harvard Mr s A t kin s on had him intr oduced t o t he
do c t rine s during a vi s it t o I s le l e Beau wher e Harm a n
A l ong
B l e n n e r h a s s et l ive d in kingly s plendo r
st anding but st il l unproven t radit ion in the Sw eden
b or gi an Church s t a t e s t h at John s fir st c o nt a c t w it h
the t ea c hing s w a s t hrough Judge John Young a w e s t ern
P enn syl vania law y er and m em ber o f t he Church of t he
New Jeru s alem
Thi s t ra d it i o n a l s o c laim s t hat
Judge Young supplied Johnny w it h m any of t he book s
he late r di st ribut e d in the W e st
Perhap s the on ly
provably accurat e st at em ent which w e can m ake about
John s c onver s ion i s th at it i s not know n when or how
it t o ok place but that it w a s c er t ain ly very early in
hi s c areer
Other det ail s o f John s m i s s ionary w ork c an be
m or e definit ely e s t abli s hed
In fact t he ear lie s t
print ed referenc e t o John Chapm an ye t di s covered
appear s in a New Church report print ed in January
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28
The acc ount t aken
in Manche st er Eng l and
fr om a lett er from a Philadelphia corre s pondant doe s
not m ent ion John by nam e
How ever it give s det ail s
of h i s a s c et ic life de s c ribe s hi s p l ant ing m ethod s
"
and s ays
t he profit s of th e who l e ar e int ended fo r
t he purpo s e of enabling him t o print a l l o f the w rit ing s
"
of Em anuel Sw edenbor g and di s t ribut e them
Thi s
r epo rt a l s o c ont ain s t he fir st m ent ion of John s p r ac
t i c e of dividing a book int o pa r t s fo r g re at er d i str i
1 81 7 ,
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b u ti
on
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Num erou s let t er s w rit t en by New Churc h m em
ber s m ent ion John
One dat ed May 1 5 1 82 1 from
2
9
Daniel T h u n n t o Ma rg aret Baile y
m ent ion s an offer
by John Ch a pm an t o de ed t o the New Church 1 6 0 a c re s
of land in re t urn for pa ym e nt in New Church b oo k s
"
then st at e s
Thi s i s t he A ppl e s eed m an y ou c e rt ain l y
"
m u s t have heard of
A nother lett er thi s o ne w r itt en
0
3
a w ea lt hy and pr om inent
by W i l liam Schlatt er
New Church s uppo rt er dat ed Novem ber 1 8 1 82 2
c ont ain s t he ear l ie st w r itt en m ent ion o f Jo hn s nick
"
nam e It read s in pa rt
t here w a s but one r ecei v e r
and that w a s Mr J o hn Chapm an w hom y ou m u st have
heard m e s pe a k o f
Th ey c al l him John Apple s eed
"
out there
Thi s l et t er and an ent ry un d e r t he nam e
"
"
John A pp l e s e e d in t he ledger o f t he F ort W ayn e
t ra d ing firm of H am ilt on and Taber in 1 84 0 e s tab l i sh
the nam e by w hich John Ch apm an w a s know n dur i ng
"
"
m o s t o f hi s l i fe The dim inut i ve
Johnn y A pp l e s e ed
app arent l y becam e u s ed a s t he l egend s about him
grew a nd f l ow er e d
John w a s apparent ly a ve r y a c t ive m i s s i o nar y
fo r t he New Chu rch
Num erou s tale s and m em oir s
t ell of hi s c a pab l e and int elligent d i s cu s s ion of the
doct rine s o f Sw ede nbo rg and m a n y o f t hem m enti o n
s pe c ific in st anc e s o f t heo l ogic al argu m ent s m o st o f
whi c h o f cour se J o hnny w on h a nd s dow n
In at lea st one d ocum ent ed in s tan c e John a ppear s
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c hild
Throughout t he 1 85 0 8
Ro sella publi s hed
num erous l ett er s and m agazine art i c le s c ont aining
h er rom ant i c ized re c olle ct ion s of Johnny The m o s t
w idely c ir c ulat ed and s t ill t he m o s t fam ou s acc ount of
Johnny appear ed in an ar t i cl e writt en by W D Haley
in Harper s New Mont hly Magaz ine in Novem ber 1 87 1
A ll three of the s e account s c olle ct ed t he st ori e s
popular in the year s aft er Joh n ny s death The st o ri e s
w ere repeat ed a s fac t o v er and over in t he m any count y
and loc al hi st orie s publi shed in the ensuing year s
Here w a s the s m all w iry m an w it h the u n
shaven b eard and penet rat ing e y e s ; t he ragged c a st
off c lothing ; and t he pa st eboard hat w it h t he huge
2 The t in p ot hat s eem s t o have been p ur ely a
3
brim
3
3
fabri c ation by Henr y How e
Th e pict ure of Joh nn y
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various l y suppo s ed t o h a ve be en dr aw n by a st udent
at Ott e rbein C o llege wh o knew Joh nn y o r from a
16
de s c ript ion given by Ro sella Ri c e Other st orie s told
of the m an filled w ith rem or s e for
having killed a
ratt le snake whi c h had bitten him ; the m an w h o w ould
quenc h hi s c ampfir e t o prevent a m o s quit o from being
burned ; t he m an who w ould s leep in the snow t o avoid
di sturbing a s leeping bear and her c ubs Here were
the st orie s of m at rim onial di sappoint m ent s and of
the m an w ho brought gifts of cali c o and ribbons to
de l ight the l itt le girl s
A m ong the t ale s of Johnn y s
phi la nt hropy and kindne s s w a s the s t ory O f h ow
ou t of a m i sguided belief in the healing propert ie s of
o
t h e evi l sm elling w eed ca l led d g fe nn e 1 Johnny
s ow ed it s s eed s in the vicinit y of every c abin he
"
pa s s ed unt il in the w ord s of W D Haley to thi s
day the dog -fenne l
i s on e of t he w or st grievanc e s
of the Ohio farm er s
Many of the s e storie s are probably ba sed on
fact Som e of them are att ribut ed t o early pioneer s
who claim ed t o have heard them dire ct ly from
Johnny Other s c an be do c um ent ed from independent
s ource s
A s t ory whi c h m ay c ont ain m or e fact than fi ction
de s c ribe s John s role during the Indian u nre st of
That sum m er aft er w ar w a s de c lared w ith
1 81 2
England there w ere a num ber of Indian atta c ks and
sc ar e s in the Mansfield Mount Vernon area Johnn y
w ho knew the fore st t rail s bett er than anyone el s e
either volunt eer ed or wa s ret ained t o t ravel t o the
out l ying c abins t o keep the sett ler s w arned of Indian
act ivit ie s
A ft er at lea st on e fal se alarm a real
Indian att a c k t ook pla c e i n Septem ber at Man s field
The t en whit e fam ilie s in the ar ea im m ediately
r etr e at ed t o the blo c khous e and de c ided to s end for
h elp t o Mount Vernon thirt y m ile s aw ay
John
Ch apm an volunt eer ed t o m ake the tr i p A lthough the
earlie st account of t he event insi st s that Johnny rode
4 t he st or y m o st oft en t old i s th at John
3
hor s eback
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ran all the w ay st opping only t o w arn i solat ed s ett ler s
"
w ith the c ry
the t ribe s of the heathen ar e r ound
about your door s and a devouri ng flam e fo llow eth
"
after them
A t any rat e Johnny m ade the t rip and
r eturned w ith the s oldier s early t he next m orning
The m o st w ide spread of all t he Johnny A pple seed
"
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fo lk tale s i s the s o c alled
pr im itive Chri s tian
epi s ode The locat ion the det ail s and th e nam e of
t he m ini s t e r va ry from one a c c ount t o t he next but
the c la s sic s t ory goe s s om ething l ike thi s : Johnny i s
am ong the audienc e li s t ening t o an it inerant m i s s ion
ary wh o ha s been s erm oniz ing at c on siderable lengt h
against evil and vi c e of a l l s ort s
Trying by c on
tr a s t t o sham e hi s li s t ener s s om e of whom have
begun t o indulge in the c arnal va n it ie s o f cali c o c lo t h
and st ore bought t ea
t he m i s sionary repeat edly
"
inquire s of the audien c e
Where now i s there a m an
like the p rim it ive Chri st ians i s trave l ing t o
w ho
H eaven barefoot e d and c lad in coar s e
"
F ina lly in th e w ord s of W D Haley
When thi s
i nt er rogat ion had been rep eat ed beyond a l l rea s onable
enduran c e Johnny ro s e from the l og on whi c h he w a s
r e c li ni ng ; and advancing t o t he s peaker he p l aced
on e of hi s bar e feet up on the st um p which s erved f or
a pulpit ; and p om ti ng t o hi s c offe e s a c k garm ent he
quiet ly s aid H er e s your p rim it ive Chri sti a n
The
w ell c lot hed m i s s ionary he sit at ed s tam m er ed and
di s m i s s ed t he c ongregat ion
One c lue t o the ident it y o f t hi s m i s sionary i s
given in a lett er w ritt en by John W Daw s on to the
F o r t W a yne Sent inel in re sp on s e t o t he arti c le in
Harper s
Daw s on st at e s that in 1 830 a n itinerant
prea c her nam ed A d am Payne cam e t o F o r t W ayne a nd
"
"
proc eded t o sc old the Devil on a dow nt ow n s t re et
"
"
c orner A t t he end O f t he sc o l d
Johnny who w a s
again pre s ent w ent fo rw ard and rem inded Payne o f
the inc ident at Man s field
A c c ording t o D aw s on
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P ayne re c ogn i zed Johnny at onc e
If Payne wa s the
m ini st er invo l ved Haley s de s c ription of h i m a s the
"
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w ell c lot hed m i s s ionary i s s ingul arly inapt Payne
w a s another widely know n figure on the frontier He
w a s every bit a s s habby in hi s per s onal appearanc e
a s w a s John
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V
W E ST WA RD TO INDIA NA
.
Som etim e before 1 8 3 0 Johnny de c ided to m ove
hi s ba s e of O p eration s farther t o the w e s t
Ohio wa s
r apidly becom ing a sett led and c iviliz ed c ountry and
the m arket for hi s s ervic e s w a s m oving steadily
w e stward
S everal differ ent dat e s have been given for
Johnny s fir s t t rip through w e st ern Ohio and i nt o
Indian a inc luding s om e very early s c outing t rip s
John s fir s t do c um ent ed trip into w e st ern Ohio oc
c urred i n 1 82 8 Hi s rout e c an be t ra c ed by the trail of
lea s e s he left behind a s he a c quired s m all plot s of
land for nur s erie s ; one at F o rt A m anda another at
St Mary s and a third at what i s n ow the t ow n of
Ro c kford
The rout e sugge st s t hat he m ay have
c ont inued on into F ort W ayne float ing down the
S t M a ry s R 1 ve r t o the Maum ee and then ba c k down
5
3
W orking from lea se s deed
the Maum e e int o Ot
r egi st er s t ax paym ent s and sim ilar re c ord s Robert
Pri c e ha s i d ent ified a regular yearly c ycle of travel s
s t arting from Man s field in t he spring and follow ing
w e stw ard al ong the s out hern rout e to care for hi s
lea s ed nur s erie s but returning t o Mansfield ea c h
A ugu s t
A lt hough the fir st do c um ent ary evidenc e of
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Chap m an s pre s enc e in F o r t W ayne dat e s from A pril
and May 1 834 when John paid $ 2 5 0 for t w o par c e l s
6
3
of land along t he Maum ee River ea st of F ort Wa yn e
lo c al t radit io n s pla c e him in F o rt W ayne m u c h earlier
than 1 83 4 John Daw s on ga ve the year a s 1 83 0 He lm
an early hi s t orian o f A llen C ount y s aid t hat John
arrived in 1 8 2 8 and p lant ed a nur s e ry on the w e s t
ba nk of the St Jo s e ph River north of F ort W a yne Thi s
nur s ery lat er figured prom inent ly in the di s put e over
the lo c ation of Johnny s grave
Daw s on m ent ioned it
in hi s lett er but no do c um ent ary evidence ha s ever
been found t o c onfirm it s exi st enc e
Ot her le s s
r eliab l e r epo rt s plac e t he dat e of t he fir s t vi s it a s
early a s
In do c um ent ed r ec ord s F o rt W ayne app e a r s a s
the w e s t ernm o st po int in John s t ravel s
In legend
how ever Johnny vi s it e d w it h D an i e l B oon e in K ent ucky
and A braham Linc oln in I l lino i s H e plant ed nur s e ri e s
in s outhern Michigan and sang folk s ong s in no rt hern
Mi s s ouri
Robe rt Pric e r eport ed a l e tt er from a
C alifornia w om an s eri o u s ly cl a im ing t hat Johnny
plant ed the fir s t or c har d s in her st at e Eben Chapm an
c laim e d that hi s father a nd Johnny o nc e m ade a trip t o
Kan s a s t ying the t ai l s o f t heir hor s e s t oge t her t o
avoid be c om i ng s eparat ed w hile sw im m ing acro s s the
8
3
Mi s s i s s ippi Rive r
The only w ritt en hint of a w e s t ern j ourne y i s
c ont ained in a lett er t o A Banning No rt on of Knox
C ounty Ohio fr om a form e r re s i d ent t hen living in
Wh i t e side s C o unt y Il l inoi s The l et t er st at e d that in
the fall of 1 84 3 Joh nn y App l e s eed pa s s ed through the
c ounty on hi s w ay fr om Iow a t o a Sw edenborgian
3
9
C onvent ion in Philadelphia
How ever t her e i s n o
evidenc e t hat John w a s e v er i n Iowa and he did not
4
0
at t end t he Sw edenborgi a n C o nvent ion
By 1 836 Johnny had c omple t ed hi s m ove from
M an s fi eld t o F ort W a yne
F rom t hat t im e on he
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20
,
c on s idered him s elf a re sident
A llen C ounty Indi
41
ana
He c ontinued to vi sit in Ohio every s u m m er
up unti l a year or tw o before hi s death keeping up
m any of hi s nur s erie s and vi siting ol d friend s The
m o st la st ing portra i t of him a s a saint ly whit e
hair ed ragged ol d m an w a s developed during the s e
year s and applied to the ear lier s t orie s s o that even
in the s t orie s of hi s early adventur e s he s eem s to
4
2
appear ol d and w orn
In Indiana John bought five fair ly large par c el s
of land for whi c h r e c ord s have been found
Be s ide s
the tw o plot s already m entioned on the Maum ee John
bought s eventy four a c re s in Waba sh Tow nship Jay
C ounty ; fo rt y a c re s in E el Rive r T ow nship A llen
C ount y ; and another eight een a c r e s on the Maum ee
4
3
River near on e of hi s earlier plot s
Of the three t ra c t s along the Maum ee only one
w a s properly developed but on that on e plot of forty
tw o a c r e s John had a nur s ery of 1 5 0 0 0 t ree s growing
in
The only other plot W t h Johnny I S know n
t o have im proved w a s the on e in Jay C ounty Johnny
him s elf w orked on thi s land s t art ing in 1 837 boarding
at the t im e w ith Jo seph H ill
A l so W illiam Broom
c leared about
w h o had m ar ried John s s i st er P e r c i s
fi fteen acr e s of land b m l t a l og c abin and hew ed t im
"
5
ber for a barn on Johnny s land
Sinc e the Broom s
lived nearby it ha s been su s pe c t ed that Johnny by n ow
"
alm o st s eventy w a s planning to m ove to Jay C ounty
If thi s w a s Johnny s int ent ion death c laim ed him b e
fore he could se e i t realiz ed
of
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21
VI
.
DEA TH A ND BU RIA L
Not even hi s t orians let alone the st oryt eller s
c an agr ee on the c ir c um st anc e s o f Johnny s death
A cc ording t o t he u s ual s t ory John w a s w orking at a
nur s ery tw ent y m i le s from F o rt W ayn e when w ord
w a s brought th at c attl e had broken int o a nur s ery in
A llen C ount y
Johnny im m ediat e ly s et off t o prot e c t
hi s t ree s w alking the ent ire di st a nce in o ne day On
reaching F o rt W ay ne John app l ied for lodging a t t he
hom e of a Mr W ort h but overcom e by hi s exe r t ion s
he died during t he ni ght or a s s om e s ay a ft er a
s hort illne s s
The dat e of Johnny s deat h c a n be e st abli s hed
w ith rea s onable cert aint y In 1 934 hi s obit u a ry notic e
w a s redi s covered in t he Mar c h 2 2 1 84 5 e d iti o n of
the F o rt W ayne Sent inel by Mi s s Eva Peck of the
F o rt W ayne Public Library
The obitu a ry read s
"
in pa rt
Died i n thi s c ity on T u e s d ay l a s t ( March 1 8)
Mr Thom a s M cJan et
On the s am e day in t hi s
neighborho o d a t an advanc ed age Mr John Chapm an
( bett er kn ow n by t he nam e of Johnny
A fter a few laudat ory rem ark s the n ot ic e c oncluded
"
Hi s death w a s qui t e sudden
W e s aw him on our
"
st reet s only a day or tw o previou s
The fac t that the Sent ine l did not give th e exa ct
dat e of death ha s s upport ed the belief that the actual
"
"
dat e w a s the Tue sday la s t of the previou s w eek
M ar c h 1 1
How ever t he F o rt W a yn e Tim e s and
People s Pr e s s of M ar c h 2 2 al s o ran an obituary not
of John but of t he Thom a s M cJan et refe rred t o by the
"
S ent inel w it h the se w ord s
Died -I n thi s c ity on the
Mr Thom a s M cJan et
Thi s c o nfirm s that
1 8th
John did indeed die on Mar c h 1 8 1 84 5
The c ir c um s t an c e s of hi s death have not been
s o neat ly c onfirm ed
Ne a r l y a ll a cc ount s agree that
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22
.
evidenc e although Roebuc k w a s a b l e t o prove the
exi s t en c e o f a W o rt h fam i ly on the ea st ba nk o f
t he river a ro und 1 84 5 from regi st er s o f deed s
Our ow n inve s t ig at ion s in pr ep a ring t hi s p am ph
let ha v e show n t hat the W orth s w ere a larg e fam i l y
group m em ber s o f w hich lived on bot h s ide s of the
St Jo s eph River
In 1 84 0 a Rich a rd W o rt h w a s
l iving e a st of t he river on or near the land lat er owned
by Roebuck
A David W o rt h w a s living w e st of t he
river on or near land whi c h w a s lat er ow ne d by Je s s e
4
9
C ole
The 1 84 0 c ens u s doe s not indi c at e where
W illiam W orth w a s li v ing although chur c h rec ord s
5
0
show that he w a s in th e area at t he t im e
Som e of Roebuc k s eviden c e w a s ba s ed on tradi
t ions handed dow n in the fam ily of C hri s tian P arke r
an early pioneer who had ow ned a s aw m ill near the
di s pute d sit e Parker c laim ed t o h ave sawn the board s
from w hich Johnny s c offin w a s m ade
The m aj or
foundat ion of t he Roebuc k c a s e w a s t he t e s t im ony of
Eben Mile s Chapm an who c laim e d t o be a grand son
of A ndrew Chapm an
brot he r of Johnny A pp le s eed
Eben Chapm an s t e s tim ony w a s e specia lly c onvincing
a s h e point ed ou t the loc at ion of the W o rt h c abin the
graveyard a s pring and an abandoned road D e s ce n
dant s of Chri st ian Parker w ere c onta c t ed and s w ore
st at em ent s t elling how the st ory of Johnny s bur i al in
the ea st ern plot had been h a nded dow n in t he fa m ily
Som e of t hem vi s it ed t he Roebuck farm a nd point ed
ou t t he suppo sed grave si t e
Nor w e re the A r c her s uppo rt er s idle De s c e m
dant s of Chri stian Parke r w ere c ont act ed and s w ore
st at em ent s telling h ow t he s t ory of Johnny s bu r ial in
the A rcher C em et ery had been handed dow n in t he
5
1
fam ily
Re sear c her s di s c over ed and pub l i s hed a
lett er w ritt en in 1 903 by t he grand s on of D avi d A r ch e r
locat ing t he Wo rth hom e on t he Leo Ro a d w e st of the
river on Je s s e C o l e s land
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The c ont r o ver s y raged ho tt er The daught er of
a m an w ho helped bui l d Johnny s c offin identified the
s it e on the Roebuck f a rm w here her father had told
he r Johnny w a s buried
The s on o f the m an who got
p ai d for bui ld ing t he c o ffin claim ed hi s father told him
th at he per s onal l y buried Joh nn y at t he A r cher s it e
A n old neighbo r ident ified a s it e on t he w e st ba nk a s
the W o rt h c abin
Broken pott ery a nd rott ed timber s
w e r e fo un d o n t he s it e
Roebuck ex c avat ed a sit e on
hi s fa rm a nd fo und br o ken pott ery and rotted t imber s
A t t he height of the c o nt rover s y M r s M ar y A nn a
W e l l s h c a m e f o rw a rd to decl a re th at s he wa s the
niec e o f Johnny A pp l e s eed t h at hi s real nam e wa s
John She ffi e l d a nd t h at he w a s a ct u a lly buried so m e
w here ne a r New H a ven
I n De c em ber 1 934 t he Johnn y Apple s eed C om
m i s si o n r endered i t s final verdi ct The A rcher s ite
w a s c o nf irm ed
Th e Roebuck fa ction appealed t o the
A m er i c a n Pom olog i c a l Societ y
Bot h s ide s spent t he en s uing few year s devel
O ping e v idence a nd c o ns o lidat ing their po s it ions and
at t im e s t he c o nt rover sy be c am e quit e bitt er
In
a ft er s e v en ye a r s o f study t he P om ologi c al
1 94 2
S o c iet y m ade it s repo rt It a cc ept ed t he Roebu c k sit e
St r a ngel y enough t here w a s no imm ediate explo sion
of re a c t ion F o r one t hi ng World War I I had dire cted
peop l e s m ind s el s ewhere
F or a nother new evi
denc e h a d com e t o l ight a lt hough it apparently had
n ot been t aken int o ac c ount by the P o m o logi c al Society
In 1 93 9 aft er c o n s iderable re s e a r c h F l o renc e
Whee l e r public libr a ri a n o f Leom in ster M a s s ach u
s et t s s uccee d ed in producing a docum ented lineage
a nce st or s and relat ive s
Thi s
O f J o hn Chapm an s
evi denc e s how ed that Roebuck s s tar w itne s s Eben
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t e st im ony
Eben Chapm an had cl a im ed t o be de
s c ended from a n A ndrew Ch apm an brother of Joh nn y
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27
,
but M i s s W heeler s ev i denc e proved t hat John had no
brother A ndrew and the bulk of the Ro ebuck te stim ony
w a s thu s di s c r edit ed
W hat rem ained w a s m o st ly
hear say and c onflicting hear say t e stim ony w a s readily
available t o c ount era ct it
A c o nflict ing genealogy
2
5
produc ed by Mr s Ro ebu c k
whi c h did t r a ce Eben
Chapm an ba c k t o an A ndr ew Chapm a n brother o f
"
"
John w a s ba s ed on fam ily rec ord s and m em orie s
and w a s given no m ore c on s ideration than i t de
3
5
The P om ologi c al So c iet y report w a s largely
s erved
ignored The di s c r edit ed Roebuck ver s i on h a s never
th e l e s s been print ed a s fa c t in a num ber of bo o k s
and arti c le s and ha s been u s ed in s om e t elling s
of the folk legend of Johnny A pple s eed
Neve r thele s s neith er Johnny s death nor burial
s it e c an be r egarded a s c on c lu sively pr oved There
i s a body of c ir c um stant ial e vi den c e whi c h st ill s ug
ge st s that the death t o ok place on t he ea st s ide of the
river on or near the land whi c h lat er becam e t h e
Roebuc k farm
The W o r th s w ere e s tabli shed on t he
ea st ba nk of the St Jo s eph River a s w ere the Parker s
and oth er fam ili e s a s s o c iat ed w ith the funeral John
him s elf had s everal plot s of land along the Maum ee
ea st of t he St Jo s eph but there i s no hard evidenc e
for the suppo sed nur s ery on the A r c he r farm The
only m an whom do c um entary evidenc e c onne ct s with
the death and burial Sam uel C F l ette r who w a s paid
for building John s c off i n lived ea st of the rive r Mo st
im po rtant a st at em ent by Ri c hard W orth re c orded
only thirt een year s a ft er the event and int erpret ed in
light of ou r exi sting kn ow ledge se em s t o indi c at e
that Johnny died on the land ea st of the river even
though that sam e st at em ent m ake s it c lear that John
w a s buried in th e A r c her graveyard
In view of all thi s the m o st definit e c onclu s ion
w e c an draw i s that Johnny i s probably buried s om e
w her e on the m ound in t he O l d A r c her C em etery He
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28
i s a lm o s t c e rt ainly n ot buried at the very top under
hi s m arker
Sam uel F l ette r s aid the grave wa s on
4
5
the ea s t side near the foot
In 1 9 1 4 John A rc her
"
locat ed it on the s ide of the hill several feet south
" 55
w e s t of the c re st
even though fourt een year s
"
earlier he him self had w ritt en
at thi s t im e I doubt
that any per s on c ould
com e within fi fty feet of
" 56
point ing out hi s g rave
In the abs enc e of do c um ent ed fa c t s the story
t eller s have turned Johnny s dea t h and burial into a
beautiful and t ouching t ale of hi s la st s upper with
the W o rt h s ; t he reading of the Bible e spe c ially th e
"
"
B eat itude Ble s s ed are the pure i n heart ; the O ld
m an dying c a lm ly and at peac e with the world ; the
nei ghbo r s c om ing for m ile s to hear the funeral
s erm on ; t he pallbearer s cho s en from am ong the m o st
prom inent m en in t ow n ; and of cour s e the apple
blo s s om s drift ing silent ly down upon the c offin
Thi s w a s a beaut iful ending for the legend but
i t w a s a lm o st c e rt ainly not t rue
None of the m en
nam ed a s pallbe a rer s Thom a s Sw i nn ey Judge T h om p
s on or Henry Rudi s ill ever m entioned the funeral
in a ny w rit ing s which have c om e dow n to u s
John H
A rcher grand s on of David A rcher who m ay have
att ended t he funeral li s t ed the nam e s of the fam ilie s
pre s ent but did not m ent ion any pallbearers or give
57
any indication of an elaborate funeral s ervi c e
Richard W o rth
whom Per shing and other s have
"
"
nam ed a s the w ell -know n Methodi st c ir c uit rider
who pr ea c hed t he funeral s erm on wa s in fa c t a
Bapt i st elder who had been excluded from hi s chur c h
5 8 F inally
in a fa c t ional di s put e the year previou sly
the gent ly float ing apple blo s som s w ere only another
fabri c ation Joh nn y w a s buried s oon aft er Mar c h 1 8
The fir s t apple blo s s om s in the F ort Wayne
1 84 5
area that year did not b l oom unt il April
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29
NOTE S A N D RE F E RENC ES
Bi rt h re c ord of John Chapm an C it y C l erk s
"
Offic e Leom in s t er Ma s s achu s ett s
J o hn Ch a pm an
Sun o f N athanael a nd E l iz abet h Chapm an Born at
Leom in st er Sept em ber ye 2 6th 1 7 7 4
1
'
.
.
.
,
,
"
Locat e d at t he fork in S o ut h N a s hua St reet
Leom in s t er Ma s sa chu s e tt s
2
.
,
,
R o be rt Pric e Johnny A pp l e s ee d Man an d
M yt h ( Bloom ingt on : Indi a na Univer s it y P re s s
3
,
,
.
,
Vit al Rec or d s of Le om in st er M a s s ach u
s et t s ( Worc e st er : F ra nklin Pric e
pp 37 30 1
4
.
,
,
Richar d St orr s P roc eedings at t he
nial C e lebr at i on of Longm e a dow ( Hart ford
p 223
5
.
,
.
.
G ent en
,
,
.
.
"
F lorence E W h e e l e r
Joh n C h ap m an s Line
"
o f De s c ent from Edw ard Chapm an of Ip sw ich Ohio
A r ch a I Ogi c al and Hi st ori c al Qua rt erly 4 8
6
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,
2 8 33
-
.
Let t er from C l ifford K Shipt on Cu st odian
of the Harvard
U niver s ity A rchive s
t o Kenneth
Dirlam quot ed i n Dir la m John C hapm an ( Man s fie l d :
Richland C ount y Hi st oric a l S oc iet y
p 19
7
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
Ha rlan Hatc her e t al
Johnny A pple s eed :
A Voi c e in the W ilderne s s ( Pat e rs on N J : The
Sw edenborg Pre s s
p 50
8
.
.
,
,
.
,
9
.
J
.
S
.
.
.
S c henck and W
30
.
.
S
.
Rann
,
Hi st ory
N N Hi l l Hi st ory of Knox C o unt y Ohi o
Mt
Vernon
A
A
Graham
pp
:
1
5
6
1 57
(
Hill n a m e s t he early nur s erym en in t he area and
give s det ai l s of t he ir plant ing s
He ba rely m ent ion s
John give s no d et a il s and m er e ly sa y s t h at John did
"
"
w it hout doubt m uch go od
21
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22
.
Pric e
Jo h nn y A pple s ee d
,
pp
,
25 , 6 3
.
John Chapm an E st at e P ap er s
C o unt y C lerk s Offic e F o r t W a yn e
23
.
11
,
.
A ll en
,
'
.
,
24
.
Pric e
Johnny A pple s eed p
,
,
2 85
.
.
"
I s rael W ard A nd rew s
M c M a s te r o n Ou r
"
E ar l y Money M agaz m e of W e s t ern Hi s t ory 4
25
.
,
,
1 41
-1
50
.
26
.
Dirl a m
"
,
John Chapm an ( 3d
p
.
25
Religion o f Johnny Apple s e ed
Hat c her Johnny Apple s eed pp 4 0 4 1
27
.
T he
,
.
,
.
"
,
in
.
So c iet y for Print ing Publ i s hi ng a nd C i r cu
lat ing t he W riting s o f Em a nuel Sw edenbo rg Repo rt
( Manche st er Eng : Jan 1 4 1 8 1 7 )
28
.
,
,
.
,
29
.
,
u
ot
ed
Ha
tc
her
Johnny
A
pp
l
e
s
ee
d
p
Q
,
,
.
50
.
W illiam S c hlat t er S om e Lett e r s o f W il l i a m
Schlatt er 1 8 1 4 t o 1 82 5 t yp e s c r ipt C am bridg e Ma s s
New Church Theologic a l S c hoo l Library l ett er dat ed
Novem ber 1 8 1 82 2
30
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
31
.
32
.
Ibid
.
lett er dat ed March
2 0 , 1 82 0
.
A ut ho rit y for t he pa st ebo a rd hat and t he
32
de sc ript ion Of it i s Ro s ella Ri c e quoted in Henry
How e Hi sto ric al C olle c t ion s of Ohio 1 89 1 e d
p 4 85
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
None of t he writ er s w h o c laim ed to have
know n or s een Johnny m entions the t in p ot hat The
fir s t re c o rded m ention of t he hat i s in How e H i s t or i
c al C ollec t ion s of Ohio 1 84 7 ed
It i s not know n
where How e got hi s i nform at ion
33
.
.
,
,
.
.
34
A
.
( C olum bu s :
35
Banning No rt on Hi s tory of Knox C ounty
Richard Nevins
p 1 40
,
,
.
P rice Johnn y A pple seed pp
.
,
,
.
1 9 8 1 99
-
.
.
E nt ered at t he F ort W ayne Land Offi c e
A p ri l 2 8 1 934 ( fract i onal SE
N of M Se c 2 8
Twp 3 N Range 1 4 E
a c re s ) and May 2 3 1 834
Se c 3 Twp 3 N Range 1 5 E
( frac t ional SE
acre s ) Robert Harri s locat ed a t ra c t book contain
i ng the s e ent rie s in th e A l l en C o u nty A udit or s Offi c e
be fore 1 955
36
.
,
.
.
,
.
.
'
W illi a m Gline s Johnny A pple s eed by One
Who Knew Him ( C olum bu s
p 8
37
,
.
38
C a bin
1 934
John Ch apm a n s Kin Point s Out Grave and
F o rt W ayne Journa l Gaz ett e De c em ber 1 0
"
.
"
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,
,
,
.
39
.
N o rt o n
,
Knox C ounty p
,
1 35
.
P rice Johnny A pple seed p
r ecord s O f the New Chur c h c onvention
40
.
,
,
.
.
2 1 8,
quoting
.
In deed s
land appli c at ions
and other
docum ent s John li st ed hi s place of re sidenc e
By the
41
.
,
,
.
33
m id 1 8 3 0 5 h e w a s giving hi s r e s ide nc e a s A lle n
C ount y Indiana Pr obat e proc eeding s a ft er hi s death
t reat ed him a s a re s ident of A ll en C ount y
-
,
.
,
.
42
P rice
.
Johnny A pple s eed p
,
,
2 25
.
.
Ent er ed at t he F or t W a y ne Land Offi c e
March 1 0 1 836
Sec 4
( Ea st frac t ion of S E
Twp 3 1 N Rang e 1 5 E
acre s )
E nt e red at t he F o r t W a yne L a nd Offic e March 1 1
S ect ion 3 Tw p 2 4 N
1 836
( S E fract ion o f NW
Rang e 1 5 E 7 4 04 a c r e s Jay C ount y )
Ent e red at the F ort W ayn e Land Offi c e M ay 1 6 1 838
o f NW
Section 2 2 Twp 3 2 N Range 1 1 E
(S E
4 0 acre s )
43
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.
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
44
.
45
.
John Chapm an E st at e P aper s
Ibid
.
4, 1 5
,
,
6
.
.
J oh n had l ived w ith t he Bro o m s at Pe r r ys
vi lle and lat er at Man sfield
W ha t ever hom e he h a d
s eem s t o have been w ith hi s s i st er
46
.
.
.
Mo st of t he s e w er e ba s e d upo n t he D aw so n
le tt er and a s erie s of l et t er s w rit t en by John A rche r
in t he early 1 900 5
47
.
.
Tho s e int er e st ed in t he developm ent o f t he
R o ebuck ver s i o n should c on s u lt the Ro ebuck Paper s
th e evidenc e affida vit s and an a lys e s c ompiled by
W e s l ey Roebuck
They ar e a va i l able in type s cript
a nd m i c ro film ver s ion s at t he A l len C ount y F o rt
W ayne Hi st orical S oc iety
48
.
,
,
,
.
.
The s e nam e s app ear i n t he 1 84 0 F e d era l
C ensu s of A l l en C ount y Sinc e t h e c ens u s w a s arranged
49
.
.
34
in the order in which t he c en s u s -taker vi sited the
various fam ilie s it c an be a s sum ed that fam ilie s
,
shee t a l s o lived relat ively near ea c h other In Wa sh
t on T ow n s hip t he fo l low ing nam e s appear in thi s
i ng
o rder : W illi am Gloyd ( A ndrew W orth m arried Sarah
G l oyd J a n 1 1
David W o r th ; Je s se C ole ; David
A rcher In St Joe Tw p t he follow ing nam e s appear
in order : Sam ue l C F lutt er ; David F oland ( Daniel
F oland ) ; Richard W o rth
El s ewhere on the sam e
pag e i s t he nam e Chri s t ian Parker
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
.
.
A ft er c on s iderable re s earch into the rela
t i on s h i p s of t he W o rt h fam ily
w e h a ve unc overed a
few new fa c t s and have form ed s om e t entat ive con
c l u s i on s
Our finding s and suppo s it ions appear in
the A pp end ix
50
.
,
.
.
Sw orn affida vi t s o f George A Parker Sep
t em ber 6
Pet er Parker ( Sept em ber 1 0
and W i ll iam Parker ( Septem ber 6 1 934 ) obt ained by
t he Johnny A pple s eed Mem orial Comm i s s ion N ow in
t h e file s o f t h e F o rt W a yn e Publi c Library
51
.
.
,
,
,
.
.
Lizzi e Roebuck Genealogy of the Chapm an
F a m i ly : Re l at ive s of John Chapm an (Johnny Apple
s eed ) ( F o rt W ayn e
52
.
,
,
It al s o appear s t hat s om e of the Roebuck
affid a vit s w ere alt ere d
The e a r l ie s t a ffidavit s pub
l i s h e d by the Roebu ck s c l aim ed that Johnny died at
the hom e of a Levi Wo rt h a ccording t o the i nf ormant s
W hen it be ca m e clear th at n o Levi W o r th exi st ed in
the a rea at t h e t im e of J ohnny s death
Roebuc k
a c cu s ed H B E s s ex hi s sale s m anager w h o had
gathered t he affidavit s o f changing them to fit hi s
ow n i d ea s ( s ee t he R o ebuck Paper s ) and relieved
53
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.
.
'
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,
,
,
35
E s s ex of hi s i nform ati on gat hering dut ie s
The
John ny A pple s eed M em or i al C om m i s s ion a l s o obt aine d
an affi da v it from Theodore A s hley brot her of Sarah
A nne D o c t o r
one of R o ebuck s ear l y i nf o rm ant s
A s hle y sw o r e t h at he w a s pr e s ent w hen hi s si st er s
"
s t at em ent w a s t aken a nd th at t he stat em ent o rigina lly
s igned w a s ch a nge d ad ded t o and m odi fie d and t h at
a num be r o f st at em ent s c o ntained t her ein w ere
"
not m ad e by affiant s ( A shl e y s ) s i s t er
A sh l ey s
a ffida vit i s now in t he po s s e s sio n of t he F ort W ay ne
Public Libr a ry
-
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'
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'
'
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.
54
S ent i ne l
.
'
.
,
,
Le tt e r f rom Leonard Brandt t o C l iff Mi l no r
"
"
Line s a nd A ngle s
F o rt W ay ne Journal G a z ett e
Novem ber 1 9 1 96 4
Brandt w a s the Journal Gaz ett e
phot ographer who phot ographe d John A rcher in 1 9 1 4
w hen t he latt er vi sit ed t he A rche r gr av eyard fo r t he
purpo s e of lo c a t ing the gr a ve s it e
Br a ndt di s t inc t ly
r em em bered the s it e John A rcher p oint ed out a s
"
"
being s everal feet fr o m the c r e s t
55
,
u
ot
e
d
in
Da
w
s
o
n
s
l
e
t
t
er
t
o
t
he
F
ort
W
a
yne
Q
Oct ober 2 1 and 2 3 1 8 7 1
'
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
Le tt er from Joh n H A rcher t o O P Morg a n
Oc t ober 4 1 900 in A J Baughm an Hi s t o ry o f Rich
land Count y Ohi o ( Chi cag o : S J C larke
p 21 7
56
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.
Ibi d
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,
,
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.
F ir st Bapt i st Ch urch
E ntry und er d at e A pr il 2 0 1 844
Library
58
.
,
,
57
.
.
,
,
,
Rec o rd s Book B
F o rt W ayne Pub l ic
,
.
Rapin A nd rew s Diar y Ent ry fo r A p r i l 1 7
M anu s cr i pt C o ll ect ion Indiana Di v i s i o n In diana
1 84 5
St at e Libra r y
59
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,
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,
,
.
36
,
,
A PP ENDI X
Where d i d Johnny A pple seed die "
Where i s he buried "
A ny att empt t o lo c at e John Chapm an s death and
burial s i t e s t h rough deduc t ive proc e s s e s must pro c eed
from a n i nve st ig ati on of t he m em ber s of the W orth
fa m ily t o det erm ine t heir na m e s and pla c e s of re si
denc e
Mo st r e s earcher s have not re c ognized that there
w ere s ever a l adult m a le Worth s living in A llen C ounty
in 1 84 5
W e identified at lea s t fift een Worth s all
r el at ed by birth or m arriage know n to have re sided
in t h e area be for e 1 84 5 At l ea s t tw o probably three
and perhap s even four w ere m arried head s of hous e
hold s by t he t im e t hat Johnny A pple s eed died at on e of
their hom e s
The problem i s som ewhat c ompli c at ed
by the fa ct th at tw o of the m en bore the sam e nam e
Ri c hard F ollow ing i s a li s t of t he W ort h s w ith birth
and de at h dat e s where know n :
'
,
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,
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,
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,
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,
,
.
Richard W ort h Sr
E liz abeth W o rth Sr
David W o rth
Mahal a W o rt h
W illiam W ort h
.
,
,
.
b
b
.
1 7 80 1 7 90
d
.
1 7 86
d
-
b M
.
b
b
1 2 , 1 80 8 d
ay
.
1 81 7
.
1 81 1
.
.
.
J
u ne ,
1 86 9
J
l
une
ul y
J
b Sept
b 1 82 0
b
.
.
37
1 85 1
,
d Se p t 6 , 1 8 96
2 6 , 1 82 4 d Sept 2 2 , 1 9 1 7
1 2 , 1 81 4
.
.
,
w ill dated
F eb 2 4 1 86 6
.
A ndrew W ort h
Sar a h ( Gloyd ) W o rt h
John W o rth
1 84 5
.
.
.
.
Richard W orth Jr
b 1 822
N a nc y W o rt h
b 1 83 1
E liz a beth ( Wort h ) No ah b 1 82 6
J am e s W o rt h
H a nn a W o rt h
A gne s (W o rt h ) W elch
Po l ly W o rt h
E arly 1 86 4
d J a n 2 0 1 893
*
.
,
(1
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,
.
W e found n o m ent ion of ot he r W o rt h nam e s
p ri or t o 1 84 5
The 1 85 0 c en sus l i st s s e v eral m ore
W r th s w ho a re ident ifiable a s m inor chi ld ren o f o ne
g
o f t he above It a l s o li st s a Mar y W o rt h ag e 2 4 and
a n E l len W ort h age 4 li ving in t he hou s eh o ld of Jo hn
a nd Rebecca ( D e H ave n ) W ort h
John a nd Rebecc a
w ere m arrie d o nly tw o m onth s before t he cen s u s w a s
t aken s o E ll en m u st be t he chi l d of M a ry
E l l en s
fat he r i s not know n
It i s p o s s ible t h at M a r y w a s
- n
a nother W ort h si st e r o r s i s t e r i law w id ow ed
di vorced o r de s ert ed by E llen s father
The fam ily re l at i o nship s a m ong the vari o u s
W o rt h s have never been m ad e c l e a r but w e ha ve
f orm ed s o m e c onclu s i o ns b a s ed on evi d enc e u n
c overed whi l e prep a ring t hi s pamphle t
Thi s new
evidenc e ha s c om e from cen sus r et urn s w ill s d eed
r egi s t er s pr o bat e r ec o rd s a nd t he rec o rd book s o f
the F i r st B apt i st Chur ch o f F ort Wa yne w hich nu m
bered m any of t he W o rt h s am o ng it s e a r ly m em be r
s hip F or t he fir st ti m e it i s now po s s ib l e t o d r aw
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,
c e n su s l i st s Ri chard s age a s 2 8 ;
g i vi ng a p ro ba ble bi rth date so m e t i m e i n 1 822 I n the
ui r i ng
1 86 0 ce n s u s Ri chard s age i s gi ve n a s 4 0 re "
a bi rth date i n 1 82 0 I f the latter fi gure i s true
but m ore
R i chard m ay ha ve b ee n a tw i n to Joh n
p ro b a b ly Ri chard S i mp ly rounded off hi s age i n the
1 86 0 e n um erat i o n a co mm o n p ract i c e at the t i m e
'
Th e 1 850
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,
38
c on c lus ions about the death and bur ial of Johnny
A pple se ed ba s ed on a r elat ively large body of fac tual
inform at ion about the people report ed t o have been
m o s t clo s ely involve d
Ri c hard W o rt h Sr w a s t he pat riarch of the
c lan He w a s the fat her of m o s t i f n ot al l of t he
W ort h s in t he abo v e li s t
Jam e s W ort h w a s either
the brother or one o f t he elder s o n s o f Ri c hard Sr
Jam e s W orth w a s not involve d in the J ohnny A pple s e ed
st ory having le ft the F ort W a yne ar ea s ever a l year s
before Johnny died Hi s a c c ount w it h the t rading firm
of Ham ilt on and T aber w a s c lo s ed in 1 83 7 w ith th e
"
"
notation
run off
He ow ed a t ot al of $ 4 9 3 9
David W illiam A ndrew John Ri c hard Jr
E liz abet h Jr
Agne s Hanna and P olly w er e p rob
ably the c hi l dr en of Ri c hard Sr
Be c au s e of t he
unc ert aint y about the re l a t ion s hip bet w een Rich a rd S r
an d Jam e s W o rt h t her e i s s om e chanc e but ab s olut ely
no eviden c e t hat one or m or e of the s e c ould ha ve
been the c hil d ren or w ife of Jam e s W ort h who
s t ayed on w it h Ri c har d a ft er Jam e s l eft t he F ort
W ayne area
W e have det erm ined t he relat ionship s am o ng
s om e of the W o rth s on ou r li st
M aha l a w as Mr s
David W o rth a c c ording t o t he 1 85 0 c en s u s of Whit ley
C ount y Indiana
The d at e of the m a rriage i s not
know n but they had a s on J a m e s Loui s W o rt h born
A ndrew W o rt h m ar ried a Sarah Gloyd
Ju l y 1 0 1 836
on January 1 1 1 84 3
A Gloyd fam ily lived ne "t d o or
t o David W or t h at t he t im e of the 1 84 0 c en s u s N a n c y
W orth w a s t he w ife of Rich a rd Jr
A ga in the dat e
of t h e m a rriage i s not know n s o it i s po s s ible that
Nan c y w a s a m em ber of the fam ily in 1 84 5 and s he
i s li st e d a c cordingly
Rich a rd and Nan c y had a s on
David Lew i s W o rt h born at Lorane India n a on Janu
ary 1 3 1 84 9
John and W illiam W ort h w ere both
m ar ried after 1 84 5
John m arried Rebe cc a D e H ave n
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40
on March 2 7 1 85 0 in F ort W ayne The only m arr i age
r ecord whi c h ha s been found for W illiam W orth show s
th at he m arried Sarah Baxt er on Sept em ber 1 7 1 85 8
in D e K al b C o unt y w it h Ri c hard Wo rth offi c i ating a s
Ju stic e o f t he Peace At the t im e W illiam wa s fort y
s even year s old but there i s no evidenc e that he had
been m arried previou s ly Elizabeth W orth Jr marr i ed
Lyell Noah and w a s living in W a sh i ngt on Township at
the t im e of t he 1 85 0 censu s
A lthough we have u n
c overed no dir e c t proof w e believe that El i zabeth Sr
w a s t he w ife of R i c hard Sr
Elizabeth w a s the only
fem a le W o rth know n to have been of approximat ely
the s am e age a s Richard
A ft er Ri c hard died and the
other W o rt h m en m oved aw ay E lizabeth stayed on
unt il her deat h in 1 86 9 living W ith Lyell and E lizabeth
Noah who w ould t hen have been her daught er and s on
i n law
S om e c o nfu s ion doe s s t i ll exi st rega r ding the
relat ion ship am ong Ri c hard Sr
David W illiam
a nd Ri c h a rd Jr Som e a cc ount s s ugge st that R i c hard
S r W i l liam and David w ere brother s A l so Robert
Pri c e in hi s biography Johnny Apple seed Man and
M yth ident ifie s Richard Jr a s the s on of William
W o rt h
W e believe that the c o nfu sion ha s stemm ed
fr om tw o s ourc e s : The general lack of i nform ation
a s t o t he num ber o f W orth s pre s ent in the area ; and
a s t atem ent by Thom a s B Helm author of an early
and u su ally quit e accurat e hi st ory of A llen C ounty
that am ong the founder s of the F ir st Bapti st Chur c h
"
w ere Richard Wo rt h and hi s brother s David and
"
W il l i am a nd t heir w ive s
The c hur c h re c ord s make
it c le a r t hat Rich a rd Sr w a s a founding m ember
a l o ng w ith David and W ill i am but that Ri c hard Jr
w a s adm itt ed to m em ber ship by bapt i sm s everal days
lat er
Neverthele s s w e have learned that William
A ndrew and John w ere of the
David Richard Jr
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41
s econd generat i on W o rth s in t he area and w e believe
that t he y w ere all br o ther s t he s o n s of Richa rd Sr
W e know t hat thei r ag e s ar e d i st ribut ed a s w e m ight
expec t in a father s on re l at ionship Ri chard Sr w a s
born du r ing t h e dec a de 1 7 80 1 7 90
Thu s he w a s n o
young er th a n ei ght een wh en David w a s born in 1 80 8
and n o o lder than fo rt y tw o w hen Rich a r d Jr w a s
bo r n in 1 82 2
By c ont ra s t D a vid th e olde st o f t he
"
"
sec ond g enerat ion w a s on l y f o u rt een whe n Rich a rd
t he yo unge st w a s born Obv i ou s ly Rich a r d Jr
Jr
c a n o n ly h a ve been t he s on of Richard S r
Thi s i s
the relat i o n s hip which w il l pr ove t o b e o f prim e i m
porta nc e in d et erm ining i n w ho s e h o m e John Ch a pm an
died
Ther e i s ot her evide nc e whi c h s uppo r t s our
c onc l u s ion s about t hi s re l at ion s hip On F ebruary 2 4
1 86 6 in But ler D e K al b C ount y W illiam W or t h w r ot e
hi s la st w ill and t e s t a m ent In t hi s d ocu m e nt W i l l i am
beque at hed t o Davi d Lew i s W orth the s on a nd he ir o f
"
all m y
Richard Jr w h o h a d d ied t w o year s ear l ie r
r ight t it le and int ere s t in and t o t he us e of t he pat ent
shing l e m achine which I bought of m y brother Rich a rd
"
in t he c ounty of Whitl ey in t he s t at e of Ind i a na
Richard Jr li v ed in Whit ley C ounty off and ou f or
m an y year s ; w e c ould find no evidence t hat Rich a r d S r
ever even vi sit ed t he c ount y
W illiam W ort h s t e s t am ent pr ovide s other r at her
c ircum st ant i al evidenc e t hat he and R i ch a rd Jr
w ere brother s Having given hi s right s t o t he s hing le
m a c hine t o David Lew i s W il l i a m l eft a l l t he re st of
"
hi s w or l dly g ood s t o m y belove d si st er M r s N a ncy
W o rt h
Nancy W o rth w a s the w i dow of Richar d Jr
n
and t hu s W illiam s s i st er i l aw If W illi a m h ad been
the bro t her of Rich a rd Sr
N a ncy w ould h ave been
hi s niec e
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42
,
.
The W o rth s c am e to F o rt Wa yne from Oh i o i n
1 83 6 or 1 8 37
Their re c ord s in the a cc ount books of
Ham ilt on and Taber sugge st that they w ere logger s
supplying t im ber for the s awm ill s in the c ounty i n
c l udi ng perhap s the one O perat ed by Chri st ian Parker
.
,
.
s it e s or perhap s to l i v e a s s quatt er s on the property
of s om e ab s ent ee landow ner
Only on e parc el of l and i n A l l e n C o un ty i s known
t o have been ow ned by one of the W orth s On O ct o
ber 3 1 84 0 A ndrew W orth bought a 4 0 a c re plot near
the c ent er of St Jo s ep h Town ship for $ 8 0 00 On O cto
ber 1 2 he re s o ld it to John W orth for that sam e
am o u nt
John he ld it until Novem ber 2 1 1 84 6 when
h e s old it to a John Gor i g Thu s it c an be shown that
a t lea st one m em ber of the W orth fam ily group owned
land at the t im e John Chapm an died and ea st of the
rive r i n St J o s eph Tow n s hip n o 1 e s s but thi s land
w a s lo c at ed w ell back from the river and n o on e ha s
yet sugge s t ed that Johnny A pple s eed died or wa s
buri ed on t hi s p a rt icular plot
At the t im e the 1 84 0 c ensus w a s taken a Ri chard
W o rt h a l m o s t cert ainly Ri c hard Sr
wa s living
ea st of t he S t Jo s eph River in St Jo s eph Town ship
on or near the land which l ater be c am e the Roebuc k
f a rm
David W orth w a s living we st of the river in
W a shingt on T ow nship on or near the land whi c h wa s
l at er ow ned by Je s s e C ole
Judging from the census
dat a and from t he very spe c ifi c locat ion s e st abli shed
by Daw s on John A rcher and W e sley Roebuck and
c o nfirm ed by on s it e digging t he tw o Worth c abins
w ere dire ct ly acro s s t he river from each other no
m o r e t han o ne qua rt er to on e half m ile apart and
p erhap s even w ithin s hout ing di stan c e
The 1 84 0
c en s u s doe s not li s t any ot her W orth s a s head s of
hou s ehold s m aking it impo s s ible to tell for c e r tain
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43
where W illiam w as living at the tim e
It i s diffi c ult t o rec onc ile the return s o f t he 1 84 0
c ensu s w ith the kn ow n fa c t s abo ut the W o rth fam i ly
T he 1 84 0 cen s us li st ed only the head of t he hou s ehold
by nam e
Mem ber s of t he hou s eho l d w ere indicat ed
o nly by not ing the num ber of per son s who fel l int o
variou s cat egorie s o f age and s ex By m at ching dat e s
and know n relat ionship s w it h t he c en s u s dat a w e c an
det e rm ine that the David W orth hou s ehold w a s c om
po s ed of David ( age
Maha la hi s w ife ( age
tw o you ng son s Jam e s Loui s ( age 4 ) and anot her wh o se
nam e i s u nknow n ; and on e other m an ( age 2 0
W illiam A ndrew John and po s sibly Ri c h a rd Jr
c ould all fit t he s e charact er i st ic s
In t he Richa rd W ort h hous ehold it i s m uch
m or e difficult t o a s s ig
n na m e s t o t he che c k m ark s
The hou s ehold c onsi st ed o f Richar d ( age 5 0 t o
E liz abeth ( age
tw o f em ale s ( age 1 0 t o
one
of w hom should have been E liz abe t h
a nother
fem ale ( age 1 5 t o
and t h re e m a l e s ( ag e 3 0 t o
Thi s l a st figure s eem s suspect
It i s a ft er al l an
unlikely di st r ibut ion of age s in any fa m ily
It doe s
s eem m ore rea s on a b l e t o a s sum e t h at W illiam C
Sc ott t he c en s u s t aker m aking an ent ry on the 2 9th
line of a long p age of fig ure s s imply m i s c al c u l at e d
by one c olum n and t hat the co rrect ent ry s hould
"
r e a d M a le s age 2 0 3 0
Thi s int erp ret at ion w ou ld
c om e m uch c lo s er t o fitt ing the actu a l a ge s of the
W orth fam ily m em be r s know n t o have been in the
area at t he t im e
The m o st u s eful s ingle pie c e of i nform ation w e
un c over ed in o ur re s earch w a s found in the reco rd
book s of t he F ir st Bapt i s t Chur c h Ri c hard W o rt h Sr
died in June 1 84 5 Obviou s ly then t he Richard W o rt h
w ho filed a c laim against John s e s t at e for la st
s i c kne s s funera l and c o ffin expen s e s on A ugu st 1 9
1 84 5 and who in 1 85 8 t old the particular s of Johnn y s
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44
death t o t he Reverend Thom a s M cG aw w a s Richard Jr
,
.
If w e are t o m ake s om e definit e s t at em ent pin
p oint ing the death and burial s it e s of John Chapm a n
w e m u st ba s e t hat s tat em ent on eviden c e of the
highe st po s s ible qualit y
In evaluat ing any pie c e of
evidenc e w e m u st c on sider three fa c t or s : O ppo rtuni ty
m ot ive and c onsi st en c y
Did t he inform ant have
c lo s e p er s onal a c c e s s to the i nform at ion" Did he
st and t o re c eive any p e r s ona l gai n from hi s t e st im ony"
Doe s t he eviden c e given rem ain c on s i st ent w ith it s e lf
and w ith ot her fact s whi c h c an be doc um ent ed inde
pendentl y"
None of the t e st im onie s u sua lly quot ed i s t ot ally
c on s i st ent w ith the know n fa c t s in every deta il
Neve rthe l e s s
t he be st evidenc e availabl e w ould
appear to be t he s t at em ent whi c h Richard W o rt h Jr
m ade in 1 85 8 in But ler Indiana then c alled N o rri st ow n
Ri c h a rd w a s int erv i ew ed by hi s friend Thom a s N
M cG aw on beha lf of Reverend Jam e s F M G aw who
w a s wr it ing a nove l in which Johnny A pple s eed w a s t o
play a m inor ro l e
The Rev M G aw elaborat ed upon
a nd great l y r om ant i c iz ed th e detail s fur ni s hed t o him
and indeed a l m o s t s inglehande dl y invent ed t he m yt h
of Johnny s t end er t ou c hing deathbed sc ene
The
origina l lett er from Jam e s M c G aw w a s publi s hed in
the Man sfield Ohio Libera l in A ugu s t 1 87 3
Ot he r
t e st im o ni e s c om m only referr ed t o are John W
Daw s on s let t er t o t he F o r t W a yn e Sent inel publi shed
in 1 8 7 1 ; s ever al lett er s w ri tt en by John H A r c her
grand s on of David A rch er who ow ned t he A r c he r
grave yard which w ere publi shed at variou s t im e s
around 1 90 0 ; and t he oral and w r it t en t e s t im onie s o f
a num ber of W e s ley Roebuc k s i nform ant s r eco rded
in the period from 1 92 0 t o 1 94 2
A ll other a cc ount s
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45
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of John s death and burial appe a r t o be derived from
on e or m ore of t he above
M cG aw s repo rt of Ri c h a rd W ort h s st at em ent
in 1 85 8 c ont a ins ver s i on s of s e v er a l com m on A pp l e
s eed st orie s plu s one or tw o f o r which it s eem s t o be
the origin a l s our c e
In onl y one s h ort par ag r a ph
doe s M cG aw quot e Rich a rd W ort h dir ect l y but t hat
par a gr a ph direc tl y addre s s e s bo t h que st i o n s o f w her e
Johnny died and w here he w a s bur ied
M c Gaw w rot e
sa id Mr W ort h re s pect ably in
W e buri ed him
David A rch er s g ra v e ya rd tw o and o ne ha lf m i l e s
no rt h of F o rt W a y ne he having die d at m y fat her s
hou s e which t o him w a s a c o mfort abl e and w e l com e
hom e in hi s o l d age
In c h r onologic al orde r
the s e c ond ear l ie st
evidenc e i s c ont ained in t he Daw s on lett er of O ct ober
Daw s on w rot e hi s let t er in re spons e t o a n
1 87 1
art i cl e about Johnny A pp l e s eed in H arpe r s New
Monthl y Maga zine
Daw s on c o rre ct e d fac t ua l er r o r s
in t he Harpe r s acc ount r e l at ed s ever al st orie s o f
John s a c t ivit ie s in and ar ound F o r t W ay ne a nd s tat e d
"
Johnny A pple s eed die d on t he 1 1 th of March 1 84 5 at
the hou s e of W i l liam W o rt h in St Jo s eph T ow n s hip
A l l e n C o u nt y Indiana on the la nd now ow ned by Je s s e
C o l e on t he F eeder C a n a l He w a s bu r ied a rea s on
able t im e t hereaft er i n a beautifu l n at ur al m ound at
the fam i l y burying ground s et a p a rt by D avi d A r ch e r
A round 1 900 when int ere st in Johnny A pple s e ed
beg a n t o be rekind l ed John H A rcher w rot e s e v er al
lett er s to va rious pe r s ons a nd new s paper s s etting
fo rth hi s re c o l lect ion s of John
Hi s stat em ent m o s t
O ft en quot e d w a s included i n a l e tt er w ri tt en t o t he
F o rt W ayne J o urnal Gaz et t e on Mar ch 2 2 1 903 He
"
w rot e
He died 5 7 year s a g o at t he hom e of D a vid
a nd W illiam W o rt h a few rod s northea st of the pr e sent
hom e of Edw ard Pfe iffer on t he Le o Road three
m ile s north of F o rt W a yne a nd w a s l a id t o re s t in
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46
"
grandfather s privat e burying ground s
The m o st rec ent t e s t im o nie s ar e t ho s e s o l icit ed
by W e s ley Roebuck
The s e w ere b as ed on s t ori e s
handed d ow n am ong s om e of t he early fam ilie s of
St Jo s eph Tow n s hip s om e o f w h i ch h a d been fi lt ered
t hrough three g ene r at ion s before Roebuc k record e d
them
Roebuck w a s a ble t o l o c at e s om e i nf orm ant s
w ho w ere a l ive at t he t im e Johnny wa s burie d a nd w h o
c laim ed t o h a ve att ended t he funer al or vi sit e d
t he gr a v e s it e
The v ariou s t e st im o ni e s e l icit ed by
Roebuck differed so m ew hat a s m i ght be expec t e d
but d id enable Roebuck t o l oc at e t he rem a in s of a
c abin and an apparent bu rying place at t he s it e s indi
c ate d b y s om e o f t he i nf orm a nt s
In evalu at ing t h e t e st im onie s it i s e a s ie st t o
di spo s e of the Roebuc k evidenc e It cannot be proved
that a ny of t he Roebuck w it ne s s e s w a s pre s ent at t he
death or burial ; in fa c t Roebuck s princ ipal w it ne s s
E ben Mile s Chapm an who e v en c laim ed t o be a grand
nephew o f Johnny w a s not r el at ed t o John at all But
m uch m ore dam ag ing w a s t he int ernal in c on s i s t ency
of t he Roebuck evidenc e E a rly in hi s inve s t i g at ion s
Roebuc k att empt ed t o sh ow that John died at t he h o m e
of a Hir a m W o rt h When t hi s proved im po s s ible he
fixe d on t he nam e Levi W o rth and fina lly a s m ore
fact s be c am e c le a r
sett led on Richard
Roebuck
s how ed a c ert ain ent hu s ia st ic but unc rit ic a l acc e p
t anc e of evidenc e and t here i s evi d enc e t o s how th at
Roebuck or hi s re s ear c her s w o uld on oc c a s i o n
chang e or a lt e r evidenc e t o im prove it s c oincidence
w ith t heir theorie s
The be s t t hat ca n be said for
the Roebuck inve s t ig at ion i s th at it unc overed a few
*
really impo rt ant d ocum ent a b l e fac t s ; it p ro v ide d t he
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buc k a nd h s re earchers should b e cred ted
th d sco ver ng the C ha pm a n e tate p a p er
the
Roe
Wi
i
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s
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s
48
s,
im pe t u s for a general inve st igation whi c h brought to
light a go od m any m ore docum entable fact s ; a nd it
p r obabl y locat ed w it hin s om e fairly ex act boundarie s
the c abin i n which Richard W o rt h Sr w a s living at
t h e t i m e o f t he 1 84 0 cen s u s
John A r cher s t e s t im ony i s m ore difficult to
e val u at e
He w a s w rong a bo ut t he dat e of John s
de ath ; but s o w a s every other w it ne s s bar none The
s tri k i ng fe at ure s o f hi s t e st im ony ar e t he pre c i s e
"
"
lo cat ion o f t he h o m e of David and W il l iam W ort h
and hi s i n s i s t ence th at John w a s bur ied in the A r c her
g ra ve ya rd If John A rcher s t e st im o ny c an be fa u lt e d
i t w o ul d h a ve t o be o n gro und s o f h i s a c c e s s t o the
event s A rche r w a s o nl y eight yea r s ol d when Johnny
d ied He did not s et d ow n hi s rec o lle ct i o n s unt il
fifty s ix ye a r s lat er a nd he m ay have been influenc ed
s om ewh at by other s t orie s and m em ori e s in the
m eant im e
John Daw s on s t e s t i m ony i s the m o s t c om pr e
It i s a l s o ea s ily
h e n s i ve and the m o st w idely quot ed
t he m o st c o nf u s ing a nd t h e m o st prone t o error
D aw s on h a d obviou s ly done s om e r e s e a rch t alked
t o Sam uel F l ett e r and checked the Chapm a n e s t at e
pape r s
Hi s re s ear c h m us t have been hurried ; hi s
le tt er a ppe a red in t he F o rt Wa yne Sent inel on O c t o
ber 2 1 and 2 3 in re s pon s e to a n art i c le in the No
Throughout hi s acc ount
ve m b e r i s s ue of H a rper s
D aw s on inc l ud e s m any m inut e det ail s which m ake hi s
t e st im ony be li ev a b l e ; but hi s w o r k i s s lip s hod w it h
inexp l ic ab l e m i sta ke s a m ong st t he m o st us eful m at e
ri al s
F or in sta nce
Daw s on give s u s our m o s t
t
det ai l ed lo cat ion f or Johnny s of en m ent ioned but
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p u cha e of la nd b y John a nd A ndre W orth a nd W th
record ng m uch of the local t rad t o n s of St Jo se ph
T ow n h p
s
r
i
s
w
i i
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,
.
never -do c um ent ed nur s ery on the St Jo s e p h River the
nur s e ry he w a s suppo s edly hur rying t o s ave when he
w a s over c om e by hi s fat al illne s s
Daw s on lo c at ed
"
the nur s ery at the no rt hw e s t c orner of t he l and of
"
David A r c he r on the St Jo s eph Road
The lo c ation
not ed w ould have been on the Le o Road The St Jo seph
Ro a d ran ea s t of the rive r pa s t Ri c hard W o rt h s
hou s e
Sim ilarly Daw s on m i sreport ed t he dat e of
death a s Ma r c h 1 1 1 84 5 w ith su c h aut horit y th at it
w a s s ixty year s before t he t rue dat e w a s di sc overed
F o r m any o f hi s det ail s and per s ona l r ec ol l e c t ion s
Daw son i s the only authority but s om e o f hi s a cc ount s
have sinc e been independent ly do c um ent ed
Daw s on
him s el f w a s a loc al hi s t orian and new s paper pub
li sher and w a s s eriou s ly t rying t o det erm ine the fact s
about Johnny A pple s eed
Daw s on claim ed f o r him se lf
n o spe c ial know l edge
about John s death ; indeed he
spe c ifi c ally c redit ed Sam uel F l ett e r a s the s ourc e of
m uch of the inform at ion h e r ep o rt ed
The t e st im ony of Richard W o r t h Jr
as r e
p ort ed by Jam e s M c Gaw i s the le a s t c om plet e of the
four ; ye t it c ont ain s seven w ord s m entioned only in
p a s s ing whi c h give t he st r onge s t po s s ible eviden c e
for it s authent i c i t y
Throughout m uch of the M c Gaw
let t er it i s im po s s ible t o det erm ine exa ct l y w hich
det ail s Ri c hard re l at ed t o M c Gaw and which ar e the
"
"
re sult s of the m u c h inquiry t o w hich M c Gaw al l uded
in hi s int r oduc t ory paragraph In the pa s sa ge relat ing
t o John s burial how ever M c G aw quot ed Richa rd
W orth dire ct ly and it i s thi s dir e c t quot e r e c o rded
only thi rt een year s a ft er the event that form s the
ba s i s for our c onc lu s ion s about the s it e s of John s
death and burial Richard W o rt h sta t ed that John w a s
"
buried in the A r c her graveyard and then added
he
havi ng died at m y fat her s h ou s e
W o rt h m ight have
forgott en m any of the det ail s in thirt een year s ; he
like every other w it ne s s m ight have m i srem em ber ed
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50
t he dat e ; but it do e s not s eem likely that he w ould
have forgott en t he nam e of t he m em ber of hi s ow n
fam i ly in who s e hou s e Johnny A pple s eed d ied
.
H aving con s idered a ll o f t he pre c e d ing evidence
w e c a n st at e in conc lus i o n t hat John Ch a pm a n Johnny
A p p l e s e ed died at t he hom e o f Ric ha rd W o rt h Se ni o r
a nd t h at h e w a s burie d s om ew her e in the A rcher buri al
g r ou nd
W e vo ic e thi s conc lus ion fully r e a lizing the fact
ind eed w e w i s h s pec ific a ll y t o point o ut t hat while
t h er e e"i st s no d efinit e pro o f a s y et t h e prepond er
anc e of t he evidenc e a nd t he on ly d o cum enta r y evi dence
a va i lab l e ind i c at e s th at Rich a rd W ort h Sr li ved o n
the e a st ba nk o f t he St Jo s eph Rive r o n or ne a r the
la nd whi ch lat er becam e t he
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