The Elusive Johnny Appleseed... of Longmeadow- Part II

Illustration by George Richards from "Johnny Appleseed and Other Poems" by Vachel Lindsay, NY, 1929

Last week’s History Note article provided strong evidence that the man who grew up to be known as Johnny Appleseed spent his boyhood here in Longmeadow as John Chapman. He likely joined his father, Capt. Nathaniel Chapman, and his new step-mother, Lucy Cooley, here in 1780 at the age of six. No one knows for sure when John Chapman set off on his journey West, but most theories have him leaving sometime in the early 1790’s when he would have been about 18 years old. What was this period of time like for the would-be orchardist? What was his childhood like in the town of Longmeadow?

Ever travel up and down Longmeadow Street and notice houses with red stars and signs depicting three cornered hats? Well, those are houses that Johnny Chapman would have known. Today, approximately 20 homes still stand that were built before or during Johnny’s time here. For example, the Storrs House at 697 Longmeadow Street was built in 1786. The First Church was completed in 1767, and likely the rooster weathervane that sits atop the steeple today would have been a familiar site to him. And he would have surely known the “Old Red House” two doors down from today’s Center School at 787 Longmeadow Street. It was a perfect stopping off point as a tavern for travelers during Johnny Chapman’s days here.

As a matter of fact the Revolutionary War would have been an important part of Chapman’s life in town as a boy. The minister at the time was 86 year old Rev. Stephen Williams whose diary is filled with mentions of travelers passing through Longmeadow towards Boston, Vermont, Connecticut and beyond bringing news of Benedict Arnold’s betrayal, foiled plans to blow up a magazine in West Point, and skirmishes between French and British fleets in Chesapeake Bay. Surely this must have had the whole town talking, especially in the home of a Captain who fought in the earliest battles in and around Boston.

The elderly minister was a prominent figure in town life when Johnny was young. Rev. Williams describes an active and social town life in his diaries. He shares news of marriages, illnesses, deaths, births and even Thanksgiving preparations and gatherings among this small community that the Chapmans had settled in. He also mentions weather events that were crucial to the success of this farming community. Prayers for rain when it was too dry, and sun when it was too wet fill the pages of his diary. Williams records over a period of several days in May, 1781, “the water in ye River rises - very Fast and there is allready a Great Flood-. ...This day, I got up into ye Belfry in ye meeting house to view ye waters in ye River - ye flood is apprehended to be greater than has been for many years -- I apprehend much damage may be done to our fields…” It is believed that the house that Johnny Chapman and his family lived in was located downhill from the green towards the Connecticut River. Surely Johnny would have experienced the rising and falling of this important river's waters, and not even have had to climb into the belfry to notice it. Later he carried West with him his knowledge of the power of waterways, and the trees, plants, and wildlife that were sustained by this environment in the Connecticut River Valley.

From Rev. Stephen Williams Diary May, 1781: "This day I got up into ye Belfry in ye meeting house to view ye waters in ye River"

We know the Chapman family participated in church life during Johnny’s life in Longmeadow. Rev. Williams notes in his diary the marriage of Capt. Chapman and Lucy Cooley in 1780, as well as the baptism of their first son together, Johnny’s half-sibling. As Rev. Williams’ health and strength faded it was not unusual to see him carried into and out of services in a chair by faithful congregants. We know that seating arrangements reserved an area in the upper level of the meeting house for the younger boys and older boys adjacent to the “negro seating area,” but far from the younger girls and older girls. Surely Johnny spent time in the upper seating area. The early 1780’s was a period of transition away from slavery in the state of Massachusetts. Sitting in that upper seating area with the boys, Johnny would have been sharing space with formerly enslaved and free Black people listening to the word of God. Later, as a wandering man and itinerant arborist, Johnny Appleseed carried his religion with him as interpreted through the lens of Emanuel Swedenbourg, a Swedish theologian.

Public school was available to young Johnny in Longmeadow. In 1780 Massachusetts adopted its State Constitution that called for education through town funded schools. In Longmeadow, district schools were open to children ages four to fourteen. Teachers often boarded with town families and the host family would be paid accordingly for this service. It is hard to know what the curriculum would have been like, but surely it included reading, writing, basic math and religion. During Johnny’s school years, a significant contribution to education was published by Noah Webster: Webster’s American Spelling Book (1783), Webster’s Grammar (1784), and Webster’s Reader (1785). It is exciting to imagine that Johnny Chapman and his classmates might have had access to these new books that sought to create a unified system of spelling and language and inspire young readers in the new republic.

Chapman Home as it looked in 1916 on Bliss Road - its 2nd location Today it sits on Fairfield Terrace. Emerson Photo Collection at The Longmeadow Historical Society

Much was changing in local government as well. In 1783 Longmeadow became a town separate from Springfield. Such a buzz this must have created as the town began to establish its own government. Early town business required the voting men to gather and appoint positions very familiar to us today: town moderator, selectmen, treasurer, and school committee. Other business seems quaint: hiring bulls for the town’s use and voting whether or not to give swine freedom to “run at large” (they did). In 1784 the town sought to fill the following positions: 2 Wardens, 1 Constable, 3 Assessors, 3 Surveyors of Highways, 1 Tything Man, 3 Fence Viewers, 1 Deer Reeve, 1 Sealer of Leather, 1 Hog Reeve, and 1 Surveyor of Shingles and Clapboards. Capt. Nathaniel Chapman never filled any of these roles, but they give a sense of what was going on in the community in the 1780’s and 90’s. Deer and Hog Reeves? Surveyor of Shingles and Clapboards? Interesting.

Despite the end of the Revolutionary War, all was not settled for many of its veterans, including Capt. Chapman. Shays' Rebellion was a series of actions taken by groups of frustrated war veterans in Western MA who had returned to their lives in small towns and found themselves struggling financially in the years after the war ended. In January 1787, a major event in Shays Rebellion occurred at the Springfield Arsenal, the very armory where Capt. Chapman was stationed from 1777-1780. Five men, including one from Longmeadow, were sentenced to hang for their role in the uprising. It is easy to imagine that conversations about this event, the subsequent trial and sentencing, and the eventual pardon of their Longmeadow neighbor must have been exciting to overhear for a twelve year old Johnny Chapman.

Massachusetts Gazette, 1787 "sentenced to Death...Alpheus Colton, of Long-Meadow"

Ultimately, Johnny Chapman chose to pursue different pastures than Longmeadow. Personal records for the Chapman family can be found in a variety of places within our archives. Money was always tight for the family. A shopkeeper’s account book from 1785 seems to indicate that Capt. Chapman spent time in a debtor’s prison, and the debts he was able to pay back were often paid through bartered labor rather than cash or goods. Vital Records show the marriage of Capt. Chapman and Lucy Cooley produced ten children who would be Johnny’s half-siblings. Nathaniel was born in 1781 when Johnny was 6 ½ years old . The new baby brother must have been a treat to Johnny, and eventually this same Nathaniel would join his older brother on the early years of his westward trek. But nearly every two years after Nathaniel’s birth in 1781 a new baby arrived. Vital records show that after Nathaniel came Abner (1783), Pierley (1785), Lucy (1787), Patty (1790), Persis (1793), Mary (1796), Jonathan (1798), Davis (1800) and Sally (1803). As Johnny grew and the house seemed smaller, surely he felt the need to stretch his legs. He is believed to have left Longmeadow sometime between the births of Patty and Persis.

Pew Assignments from 1791 identify "John Chapman" in the Men's Gallery Longmeadow Historical Society Archives

As he got older, 17 year old “John Chapman” was assigned a seat in the Men’s Gallery of the Meeting House on the Green. This was a symbol of those transitional years from childhood to adulthood - no family to head at family pews below and no longer being relegated to the “boys” seating area. He sat among other young men of the Williams, Cooley, Bliss, and Keep families. These family names appear on houses and streets throughout Longmeadow today. For the Chapmans, though, Longmeadow was a stop-over, albeit a 15 to 25 year one. Johnny set-off west sometime after 1791. Around 1805, Captain Chapman packed everyone up and headed west as well. Johnny maintained some level of relationship with his family all his life. Towns in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana all claim a piece of Johnny Appleseed’s legacy, but we can say we knew him when he was just little Johnny Chapman.

Sources:

1. Archives of the Longmeadow Historical Society 2. Vital Records, Longmeadow, MA 3. Diary of Stephen Williams (1780-1782) https://www.longmeadowlibrary.org/stephen-williams-diary-online/ 4. Means, Howard, Johnny Appleseed: The Man, the Myth, the American Story, 2011. 5. Storrs, R.S., The Longmeadow Centennial, 1884

Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member Originally published May 13, 2021

The Elusive Johnny Appleseed... of Longmeadow

Harper's Magazine, 1871 This article is widely believed to be the source of much of the myth of Johnny Appleseed.

Is it true? Was he really from here? Or is it just part of local folklore? It is often mentioned that Johnny Appleseed lived in Longmeadow. His story is frequently included in 3rd grade curriculum in the Longmeadow schools. But … really? After combing through our boxes, shelves, folders and files in the archives of The Longmeadow Historical Society at the Storrs House Museum, it is fair to say …

Yes! he has been found - in a shopkeeper’s daybook as a young boy receiving a delivery of rum and sugar for his father in 1781. At the time of this daybook entry by a town shopkeeper, Johnny Chapman would have been approximately 7 years old. As Capt. Nathaniel Chapman's only boy at that time, this must indeed be little Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman.

1781: "Capt. Nat. Chapman (debit) to 1 pint Rum/ 1 Sugar/ delivered your boy" Hale Daybooks/ Longmeadow Historical Society

In brief, Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman in Leominster, MA in September, 1774 - just months before the famous “shot heard round the world” formally began the American Revolution. His father was a minuteman. Young Johnny’s mother died two years later from complications due to childbirth. That baby died as well. Capt. Nathaniel Chapman began service at the new Springfield Arsenal soon after, presumably leaving his young son and an older daughter behind to be cared for by his deceased wife’s family.

In July of 1780, Capt Chapman took a Longmeadow bride, 18 year old Lucy Cooley. Soon after, Capt. Chapman was relieved of his duties at the Springfield Arsenal and settled into life in this town. A big question has always been whether his son, Johnny, ever joined him out here in Longmeadow. The above daybook entry appears to confirm he did. The scant records available indicate that the Chapmans were never wealthy, and what they lacked in quantity of land or money, they made up for in quantity of children - 10 were born between 1781 and 1803. Certainly this made lean times even leaner for young Johnny Appleseed’s family. Recently uncovered Longmeadow records seem to indicate that Capt. Chapman served time in a debtor’s prison as well in 1785.

Account Books from Col. Jonathan Hale, Esq., a Longmeadow selectman and shopkeeper, record many visits to his store from Capt. Nathaniel Chapman where he purchased items like rum (no, not cider), sugar, molasses, coffee, tobacco, turnips, salt and nails . Chapman generally appeared to pay for these goods through bartered labor. Tax records indicate that Capt. Chapman was a man of so few means that there was almost nothing to tax for him. He owned no property and the house the family reportedly occupied was an old, old house on Cooley land owned by his wife’s family.

Capt. Nath Chapman's purchases from Hale Ledger, Longmeadow Historical Society

Capt. Nath. Chapman's Credits Hale Ledger, Longmeadow Historical Society

Regarding a stint in debtor’s prison, that evidence comes from these same account books. One particularly telling entry from 1785 indicates that Capt. Chapman solicited help from the same Col. Hale who sold him rum, sugar and various other “sundries” by asking him for his services for “Drawing & aproving [sic] Bond for Liberty of the yard." This special privilege of fresh air and time outside came at a cost, placing him further in debt to his neighbors. Johnny Chapman would have been about 11 years old at the time. What would this have meant for him as the oldest child in a small house with a growing number of little siblings? Surely these experiences in his formative years impacted him as he grew.

It is believed the Chapman’s settled into a small house built c.1695 on land owned by Lucy’s family. While today the house still sits on Fairfield Terrace, at the time the Chapman’s lived there it was believed to have been somewhere about 2 miles south of Springfield on the hill leading down towards the meadows and Connecticut River. Drive by it sometime and just try to imagine 13 people - 11 of them children - existing comfortably. Not hard to see why Johnny left for wider pastures.

Johnny Chapman likely lived in Longmeadow from ages 6-16, and maybe even a handful of years beyond that. No one knows for sure when he left his family here behind to start his journey west to begin his life of philanthropic apple seeding. However, it is exciting to know that a figure of such legendary status in American folklore spent his formative years in our midst.

What was life like for Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman in Longmeadow from 1780-1790? Well, that has been quite exciting to piece together. It was a remarkable period of growth and change in our town and nation. Stay tuned for Part Two of Young Johnny Chapman’s Life in Longmeadow coming next week.

Special thanks to Al McKee, Betsy McKee, Beth Hoff, and Dennis Picard for helping to make sense of how much rum was a lot of rum, etc...

Sources:

1. Archives of the Longmeadow Historical Society 2. Haley, W.D., “Johnny Appleseed: A Pioneer Hero”, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, November, 1871 3. Means, Howard, Johnny Appleseed: The Man, the Myth, the American Story, 2011. 4. Price, Robert M., Johnny Appleseed: Man & Myth, 1954

Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Originally published May 6, 2021

Stockbridge Indians and Rev. Stephen Williams

Stockbridge Indians and Rev. Stephen Williams

Stockbridge, Massachusetts is the quintessential New England town. Norman Rockwell, who lived and worked in Stockbridge, fostered this image with his idealized visions of everyday American life. As the pandemic subsides, Stockbridge will resume its role as a tourist destination, home to world-class museums and nearby art and music venues. But, how many people know that this beautiful town began as an experimental community to “civilize” and convert indigenous peoples to Christianity? The Mohican people (also known as Mahikan, Housatunnuck, Mohekanew, and/or Muh-he-ka-nuk) spent springs and summers in the Hudson River Valley and autumns and winters around the Housatonic River in western Massachusetts. As European settlers expanded holdings up the Hudson River in New York and westward in Massachusetts,

Mohicans not only lost the right to use their traditional lands but they were decimated by previously unknown diseases. Feeling that, perhaps, the God of the Europeans was more powerful than their traditional spirits, Mohican tribal leaders agreed to be missionized.

Rev. Stephen Williams, the pastor of First Church in Longmeadow, was instrumental in establishing the Stockbridge mission. Starting in May, 1734, he wrote about the mission in his diary over 80 times. Working with Rev. Samuel Hopkins (pastor of the West Springfield church) and Rev. Nehemiah Bull (pastor of the Westfield church), he negotiated with the tribe to set up the mission.

In July, 1734, Rev. Williams traveled to Westfield, where Rev. Bull joined him as they traveled to Wnahktukuk (the Mohican village) to meet with tribal leaders. The tribe gave the ministers a belt of wampum as a token of their assent. Rev. Williams wrote on July 9, “…as good a prospect of Success – as we could hope for…”

On Aug. 12, 1734, Rev. Williams traveled to Boston to report on the July trip. “This day – I began – my journey – to Boston in order to give an account to ye commissioners of what I met with at Housatunnick & the commissioners have voted to send a missionary to ye Indians & have left it with Mr. B[ull] and myself to provide a missionary.” The “commissioners” referenced were on the Commission of the Society for the Promotion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Rev. Williams returned to Longmeadow on August. 22.

Empowered by the commission and not wasting any time, on September 9, 1734, Rev. Williams “went from home to go to New Haven to ye commencement of my special business was to procure – a missionary, to go to Housatunnick & according to ye Good hand of God, upon me, I was so far Succeeded as that I have procured ye ingenious learned & pious Mr. John Sergeant to undertake that service. I praise God for his Smiles on this affair hitherto & pray him, still to Smile upon it.”

John Sergeant

John Sergeant visited Longmeadow in October on his way to his mission and Rev. Williams kept tabs on his progress for many years. From all accounts, John Sergeant was well suited to missionary work and he was respected by the Mohican people. Timothy Woodbridge from West Springfield soon joined the mission as a teacher at the school.

The Mission House (1910-1920 image) John Sergeant’s home is a National Historic Landmark which is now operated as a museum, The Mission House, which you can visit in season. For more information, click here. The English colony and the Mohican tribe agreed to settle four English families in their village, ostensibly to serve as role models on the ways of Christianity and English life. The four settlers, Joseph Woodbridge, Col. Ephraim Williams, Ephraim Brown, and Josiah Jones, were each to receive 400 acres of prime farmland. The English settlers named the town Stockbridge. In August, 1735, tribal leaders met with colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher in Deerfield to ratify the treaty. Rev. Stephen Williams was also at the gathering which he described as “a great Hurliburry indeed”. Over several days, speeches were made and gifts were exchanged, the treaty was signed, and, on the final day, John Sergeant was ordained as a minister. The Commissioners financially supported the Stockbridge mission and Rev. Williams often transferred funds from Boston to Stockbridge. The diary references several of these transactions and Historic Deerfield recently acquired a letter from the commissioners to Rev. Williams concerning this financial support. At several points between 1734 and 1740, Mohican boys came to Longmeadow, living in and being educated in Rev. Williams’s home. With eight Williams children, at least one enslaved woman (Phillis), and several Mohican boys, it must have been a crowded household!

• The first two boys came in Dec. 1734 and another came in February, 1735. At least one returned home in March, 1735. Rev. Williams wrote “I desire they may do well – that they may get good, by coming to us - & be blessings to your nation & friend.” It is not clear when they returned to Stockbridge, but perhaps the boys returned home with Mr. Sergeant in July when he came to visit Longmeadow.

• Two more boys, Isaac and John, came to Longmeadow in December, 1738 and they stayed until at least April, 1739. Rev. Williams wrote of the challenges that these students brought to the household, including illnesses and disgruntled attitudes. Perhaps they returned to Stockbridge with Rev. Williams when he traveled there in August, 1739.

• In January, 1740, three boys arrived; two left in May and the third stayed through at least July.

In the early years of the Stockbridge settlement, Wappinger, Nipmuck, and Tunxis Indians joined the community and all of the indigenous peoples who lived there became known as the “Stockbridge Indians”. Stockbridge Indians were loyal to the English colonists, fighting on the side of the colonists in the French and Indian wars and the Revolutionary War.

As Massachusetts English families moved further west, new settlers flooded into Stockbridge, buying up land promised to the tribe, and excluding the Indians from town government. In 1739, land in a section of Stockbridge (which is now Lenox) was put up for sale and Rev. Williams joined others in buying a piece of property. His diary reflects that on October 23, 1739, “I set out for Stockbridge about our Farm – had a comfortable journey & success in our business – returned home.”

The Stockbridge Indians relocated many times. In 1783, many Stockbridge Indians moved to Oneida lands in central New York and founded New Stockbridge. In 1818, they moved to White River, Indiana, then to Wisconsin. In 1834, members of the Munsee tribe joined them and the tribe is now known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Band. The tribe was relocated several times within Wisconsin, but now has a reservation in Shawano County. You can learn more about them on the tribe's website.

Sources 1. Stephen Williams Diary 2. Stockbridge-Munsee Community website 3. Stockbridge, Past and Present: Or Recordes Of An Old Mission Station (1854) by Electa F. Jones 4.https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/ctx/placeography/place0225.ocp.html

Contributed by Elizabeth Hoff, LHS Board Member

Originally published April 29, 2021