Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/283

 HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY

��■> ®

��260

��/L

��CHAPTER XXVII.

��JOHNNY APPLESEKD."

��A HISTORY of Ohio, and especially of jL^ Richland County, would be incomplete without some account of this very eccentric individual, known as Johnn}- Appleseed from the fact that he was the pioneer nurseryman of Ohio.

Johnny Appleseed deserves a place in history among the heroes and martyi's, for he was lioth in his peculiar calling. His whole life was devoted to what he considered the public good, without regard to personal feeling, or hope of pecuniary reward. Not once in a century is such a life of self-sacrifice for the good of others known. There has been but one Johnny Apple- seed ; it is hardly possible there will ever be another.

He was born, according to one or two authori- ties, in Massachusetts, about the year 1775 ; was first heard of in Ohio about the year 1801, and was known to huve traversed Richland Clounty for the first time about 1811. The date of his birth is shrouded in uncertainty. Mr. C. S. Coffinberry writes the following regarding this matter : " He was born in the State of Massa- chusetts, but at what period the writer never knew. As early as 1780. he was seen in the autumn, for two or three succe'ssi^^e years, along the banks of the Potomac River, in Eastern A"ir- ginia." If this be true, he must have been born some years before 1775. Why he left his native State and de\'oted his life to the planting of apple-seeds in the West, is known only to him- self He may have been insane, he was generally so considered to a certain degree. He was cer- tainly eccentric, as many [)eople are who are not considered insane : it is hard to trace eccen-

��tricity to the point where insanity begins. He was certainly smart enough to keep his own counsel. \y ithout doul )t his was a very affection- ate nature ; every act of his life reveals this most prominent characteristic. From this fact alone writers have reasoned, and with good ground, that he was crossed in love in his native State, and thus they account for his eccentricit}'. This is only supposition, however, as he was very reticent on the subject of his early life. He was conscientious in every act and thought, and a man of deep religious convictions. He was a rigid Swedenl)orgian, and maintained the doc- trine that spiritual intercourse could be held with departed spirits ; indeed, was in frequent intercourse himself with two of these spirits of the female gender, who consoled him with the news that they were to be his wi^•es in the future state should he keep himself from all entangling alliances in this. So kind and simple was his heart that he was equally welcome with the Indians or pioneers, and even the wild animals of the woods seemed to have an understanding with Johnu}- and never molested him. He has been variousl}' described, Init all agree that he was rather below the medium height, wiry, quick in action and conversation, nervous and restless in his motions ; e^'es dark and sparkling ; hair and beard generally long, but occasionally cut short ; dress scant}', and generally ragged and patched ; generally barefooted and liareheaded. occasionally, however, wearing some old shoes, sandals or moccasins in ver}' cold weather, and an old hat some one had cast off. It is said he was seen sometimes with a tin pan on his head, that served the double purpose of hat and

�� �� �