American pioneer, John Chapman (ca 1775-1847) was popularly known as "Johnny Appleseed." He brought apple seeds from Pennsylvania and planted them in the Midwest. It is said that he would travel hundreds of miles to prune his orchards, which were scattered through the wilderness.

Chapman's parentage and the exact time and place of his birth have not been discovered. It is generally inferred that he was born in 1775, either in Boston or Springfield, Massachusetts. All that is known of his boyhood is that he had a habit of wandering away on long trips in quest of birds and flowers. His first recorded appearance in the Middle West was in 1800 or 1801, when he was seen as he drifted down the Ohio past Steubenville, in an astonishing craft consisting of two canoes lashed together and freighted with decaying apples brought from the cider presses of western Pennsylvania.

It is claimed...