Mabry,
In a pamphlet prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and
Allen County in 1963, entitled JOHNNY APPLESEED ORCHARDIST.
From the article of John W. Dawson of Spy Run Avenue which was written
October 20, 1871, and published in the
FORT WAYNE SENTINEL October 21 and 23, 1871. The following is quoted from
the article of John W. Dawson:
"Johnny Appleseed died on the eleventh of March, 1845, at the house of
William Worth in St. Joseph Township, Allen County, Indiana, on the land now
owned by Jesse Cole, on the feeder canal. He was buried in a reasonabletime
thereafter at the family burying ground set apart by David Archer, deceased.
The plat is owned by Mr. Emanuel Rudisill and may be seen by the passer up
the towing path of the feeder; it occupies a beautiful natural mound. At
the east side of this near its foot, Johnny Appleseed was buried, and a
stome was put up to mark the spot by our townsmen. Samuel C. Gletter, who
attended his dying hours, dressed his body, laid it out, and make his
coffin. These are indisputable and are in general confirmed by the papers
on file in the Probate Court, where his estate was eleven years in being
"gobbled up"--from April, 1845, till the summer of 1856.
The estate papers of John Chapman still on file in the Allen County
Courthouse reveal that at his death he owned two nurseries-- one with
fifteen thousand trees in Milan Township, Allen County, and one with two
thoursand trees in Jay County, Indiana--as well as several small tracts of
land in Allen County. The evil years following the financial panic of 1837
exacted their toll from Johnny's business. Trees were cheap and brought
only two or three cents each. He found it difficult to pay his taxes, and
some of his real estate was sold for taxes after his death. Thereafter,
litigation consumed much of the substance of his estate."
I can check to see if his will is on microfilm at the library.
Do you want a copy?
Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mabry Benson" <benson(a)acm.org>
To: <INALLEN-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 12:04 AM
Subject: [INALLEN-L] Chapman will
Does anyone know if Jonathan Chapman who died in Allen Co in 1845
left a
will, or if there are any probate records.
Who did his property go to?
Mabry Benson