Gillett's Seedling or Rome Beauty Apple 



 
       
Origin of the Rome Beauty Apple

a)  From the report of the Ohio State Horticultural Society, Summer meeting, at Proctorville County, Ohio,
 July 23, 1919.  The meeting was the occasion for dedicating a memorial to the Rome Beauty Apple. This is in
 the form of a large granite boulder upon which is a bronze tablet with  the  following inscription:
	 
      "Attractive and reliable, foremost gift of Ohio to the apple 
       industry. The Rome Beauty Apple has borne fame to the state of 
       Ohio  and to her fruit growers of Ohio.

       The original tree was planted in 1817 by Alanson Gillette near 
       Proctorville.  H. N. Gillette, Cornelius Turley & Nelson Cox,  
       pioneer Lawrence County fruit growers were active in its       
       early dissemination.
			         
       An appreciation by the Ohio State Horticultural Society, 1919"

    The boulder is near the horticultural building and stands within a half mile of the site of  the original
 Rome Beauty Apple tree.  It will be cared for by the Lawrence County Fair Board.

    (Note:  H. N. Gillette was Alanson's 1st cousin and Nelson Cox was his nephew.  Alanson's brother,
 Joel G. Gillett, was Vern Gillett's great- grandfather)

b) From a speech by Col. E. S. Wilson at the time of the dedication.  Wilson was a  very old man and had been
 editor of the Ironton Register during the 1860's. Ironton is the county seat of Lawrence County Ohio.
 
    I was one time on the Alanson Gillette farm and I asked him about the origin of Rome Beauty.
 He was working in his garden at the time.  He said, 'Right here is where the Rome Beauty was born.'
 
    I have written articles on the Rome Beauty apple and I always thought that my account was perfect because
 I got it from the original source.  I got it from Gillette himself.  From a little sprout the Rome Beauty
 finally grew.   He told the story so familiar to all.  The father came to this twig and gave it a fling out
 to his son and said 'You may have this, I don't want it,it is nothing but a Democrat.'--- Alanson Gillette 
 planted that sprig and the Rome Beauty was the result.---  Alanson Gillette was a great character as I remember
 it.  He wrote about it for some of the horticultural papers and it was printed.   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
c) From a speech by U. T. Cox, son of Nelson Cox, whose name is on the tablet.

     "Professor Paddock referred to this apple in the Far West.  Alanson's brother (hasn't been verified),
 Preston Gillette went west and carried some Rome Beauty grafts with him.  He did not ship them as we do now.
 He went down the Ohio River and around by Cape Horn to California in the gold rush of 1849.  It was
 originally called Gillette's seedling.  My father. Nelson Cox gave the story to the Ironton Register.
 He was the nephew of Alanson Gillett.”

   It has been said that my father (Nelson Cox) originated this apple, but it is not so.  Alanson Gillette
 set it out.  His father, Joel Gillette had gone to a nursery at Marietta, Ohio and purchased trees, including
 the sprout which became the Rome Beauty Apple.  From Marietta he drifted down the Ohio River to Procterville
 in southern Ohio."

d) From the Bulletin of the Ohio State Horticultural Society, 1919, an editorial

       "One hundred and two years ago a small boy with faith in nature planted an apple tree on the bank of
        the Ohio River in Lawrence County (Ohio).  This tree was one in which the graft had failed to grow
        and a sprout came up from below the point of union.  The father, thinking it worthless, threw it to
        the boy saying, 'Here's a Democrat, you may have it.
		
        The sprout became the original tree of the Rome Beauty apple.--- The original Rome Beauty tree stood
        on the bank of the Ohio River about two miles above Proctorville.  It disappeared into the river in
        a landslide a few years ago.  The memorial will be placed in an appropriate spot where it can be seen
        and appreciated. 
 
        The Rome Beauty was originally known as Gillette's seedling, the young planter's name being Alanson
        Gillette.  The father, Joel Gillette, had brought the trees from a Marietta nursery.

        A recently discovered letter indicates that the name Rome Beauty was suggested by a George Walton,
        Rome being for the Township and Beauty for it appearance. (the date of the name change has appeared
        as 1832 and also 1835).

        Captain H. N. Gillette did the most to propagate and disseminate the variety.  He carried it to the
        meetings of the Ohio State Horticultural Society and meetings in other states.  It seems that the
        first grafts were taken off the original tree in 1828, when it was in its twelfth growing season."
       ( Captain H. N. Gillette was Alanson's 1st cousin).

e)  Another Story of an Apple:
  
    Rome Beauty, named not for the great Italian city, but rather for a small town in the southernmost tip of
 Ohio, the Rome Beauty, also known as the Red Rome or simply Rome, like many apples of its time was discovered
 by accident. Joel Gillet (also spelled "Gillett" or "Gillette" by his descendants) encountered a seedling
 tree in a shipment of trees he had received from a nursery that did not appear to match the rest of the stock
 he had ordered. He gave it to his son Alanson, who chose to plant it on the banks of the Ohio River. That was
 the year 1817.  Several years later the tree was found still alive and bearing deep red, slightly glossy
 fruit. His cousin Horatio Nelson (or H.N. Gillett) taking the initiative, took cuttings of the young tree and
 started a small nursery of the apple he called "Gillett's Seedling." The apple gained popularity as a good
 cooking apple as well as a staple in cider. A decade or so after it was first discovered, the apple was
 renamed the Rome Beauty after the Township from which it descended. The town of Proctorville, on the banks
 of the Ohio near where the original tree stood until the 1850's, calls itself the "Home of the Rome Beauty
 Apple.

    In the 20th century, the Rome's popularity as the "Queen of the Baking Apples" had made it a popular apple
 in the expanding market created by the Washington apple industry. Part of what the Washington Apple
 Commission referred to as the "Big Six" which also included Reds, Goldens, Winesap, Jonathan and Newtowns,
 the Rome also found a home in orchards of the eastern and mid-Atlantic States. Though it has not made much
 headway in the ever expanding line-up of eating apples such as Fuji, Gala and Honey Crisp that have flooded
 the market over the past decades, the Rome has remained a staple for many growers because it is a reliable
 producer, not susceptible to biennial bearing which plagues some apple varieties. Romes also bloom relatively
 late in the spring putting them out of harm's way for late frosts which can turn a bumper crop into slim 
 pickings (literally) for many apple growers in northern climates. The Rome has also found a following among
 growers in more temperate regions because it has a relatively low chilling requirement. This allows it to be
 grown in places that experience little or no winter.   

f)  Bill Gillett's visit to Proctorville, Ohio
 

      On May 27th, 2018 Bill and Clara Gillett visited Proctorville, Ohio, the site of the original Rome Beauty apple tree.
 In 1919 the Ohio State Horticultural Society dedicated a memorial to the Rome Beauty Apple.  This was in the form of
 a large granite boulder upon which was a bronze tablet.  Bill and Clara were able to easily find the boulder next to
 the horticulture building at the Lawrence County Fair Grounds.  Here are some pictures that show the boulder and tablet.

  
         Rome Beauty apple tablet 

  
  
         Bill and Clara Gillett by tablet 

 
We next visited the Rome Proctorville Cemetery to look for Gillette grave stones.   The first Gillette grave stones
 we found were for Alanson and his wife Sarah.


 
        Alanson and Sarah Gillette grave stones 

   
We also found the grave stone of J. O. (James Oregon) Gillette who was the son of Horatio Nelson Gillette.  Horatio Nelson (H.N. Gillette)
 helped disseminate the Rome Beauty Apple and was Alanson’s cousin.  His name is on the plaque.  Alanson’s father was Joel Gillette.
  Horatio Nelson Gillette’s father was Zebulon, brother to Joel.  


        J.O. Gillette grave stone 

   
We did not find the grave stone for H.N. Gillette, but we did find the stone for his wife Elizabeth Gillette, which states
 that she was the wife of H.N. Gillette. 
 These grave stones are located in the Rome Proctorville Cemetery. 


        Elizabeth Gillette wife of H.N. Gillette grave stone 

        Rome Proctorville Cemetery 

 
We tried to find where the original Rome Beauty apple tree was planted.  The story is that the tree disappeared into the Ohio river
 in the 1850s.  We think we found the original location of the orchard, but there were no signs of where the original tree was planted.
The orchard is now a housing development.  Alanson Gillette was the brother of Bill Gillett's great-great grandfather Joel Griswold Gillette.
                                                                         
 Here is a blog about the Rome Beauty Apple:  
Apple Harvester