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John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples. He was also a missionary for The New Church (Swedenborgian) and the inspiration for many museums and historical sites such as the Johnny Appleseed Museum〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Johnny Appleseed Education Center & Museum )〕 in Urbana, Ohio and the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center〔(【引用サイトリンク】accessdate=September 5, 2006 )〕 in between Lucas, Ohio and Mifflin, Ohio. ==Family== John Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, the second child (after his sister Elizabeth) of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Chapman (née Simonds, married February 8, 1770) of Massachusetts. His birthplace has a granite marker, and the street is called ''Johnny Appleseed Lane''. Nathaniel Chapman fought at Concord as a Minuteman as early as April 19, 1775, and later served in the Continental Army with General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. While Nathaniel was in military service, his wife died (July 18, 1776) shortly after giving birth to a second son, Nathaniel. The baby died about two weeks after his mother. Nathaniel Chapman ended his military service and returned home in 1780 to Longmeadow, Massachusetts. In the summer of 1780 he married Lucy Cooley of Longmeadow, Massachusetts and they had 10 children.〔〔The New England Roots of "Johnny Appleseed", The New England Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3. (Sep., 1939), pp. 454-469〕 According to some accounts, an 18-year-old John persuaded his 11-year-old half-brother Nathaniel to go west with him in 1792. The duo apparently lived a nomadic life until their father brought his large family west in 1805 and met up with them in Ohio. The younger Nathaniel decided to stay and help their father farm the land. Shortly after the brothers parted ways, John began his apprenticeship as an orchardist under a Mr. Crawford, who had apple orchards, thus inspiring his life's journey of planting apple trees.〔"Johnny Appleseed, Orchardist", prepared by the staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, November, 1952, page 4〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Johnny Appleseed」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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