The real Johnny Appleseed helped Easterners move west

Although his story is steeped in legend and lore, there was a real Johnny Appleseed.

Jonathan Chapman was born on Sept. 26, 1774, in Massachusetts.

In 1801, Chapman took 16 bushels of apple seeds from western Pennsylvania and traveled down the Ohio River. His dream was that people traveling west would not go hungry because the apple seeds he planted would grow into trees and provide apples along the way.

He planted the seeds and returned to his nurseries to tend to their upkeep. He sold tress to settlers, often accepting cast-off clothes or food in payment.

He traveled hundreds of miles on foot wearing a coffee sack with holes cut out for arms and carrying a cooking pot, which he is said to have worn like a cap over his flowing hair.

He died in 1845 not far from Fort Wayne, Ind.