why did john chapman plant apple trees in ohio?

Answer 1

he was a business man who planted and tended apple tree nurseries for fun and profit.

Answer 2

He was a man who felt, among other things, that grafting--a common practice done by cutting a notch in a tree, putting an apple branch into the notch and fastening it to the tree--was cruel.

So, he collected apple seeds from cider presses in western Pennsylvania and planted them throughout the Midwest, not merely Ohio. He also gave the seeds away to settlers.

Interestingly, John Chapman moved freely about undisturbed by Native Americans, most of whom considered eccentrics such as he appeared to be to be in special touch with The Great Spirit. To harm such a one would be like harming a shaman, and would be done at one's own peril.