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FEDOR JEFTICHEIVE – Jo-Jo The Dog-Faced Boy
Early in his life, Adrian fled his village and became something of a forest hermit. His taste for alcohol spiraled out of control and he was, by all accounts, a cruel drunk. Many visitors to his exhibition were disgusted by his unkempt and debauched appearance. His appearance was in stark contrast to that of his toddler son, Fedor. The young boy, his features not yet obscured by a thick growth of hair, charmed audiences with his impish attitude and inquisitive nature. He relished speaking to audiences in their native languages.
As quickly as they appeared, the pair disappeared. Nearly a decade later a young man billed as Theodore Petroff appeared and began a long career in sideshow.European audiences were told that hunters found young Theodore in the wild, captured him, taught him to be civilized and set him on to tour the world. In reality he was Fedor Jefticheive. His father, after returning from his 1873 European tour, promptly drank himself to death with his earnings.
In 1884 the wolf boy met one of P. T. Barnum’s many talent agents during a tour of Liverpool. He saw great profit in joining Barnum in America and did so that same year. It was there that he was given the name Jo-Jo ‘The Dog-Faced Boy’. During his time with Barnum he was billed as ‘The most prodigious paragon of all prodigies secured by P. T. Barnum in over 50 years’. At his first public unveiling he was met with audible gasps from the assembled media. His animalistic looks contrasted the neatly pressed and ornate Russian cavalry uniform he wore. Barnum fielded questions and, after members of the press were affirmed that Jo-Jo did not bite, they lined up and took turns tugging on his facial hair.
At times Jo-Jo lived up to his namesake by growling and snapping and members of the audience. A bite from Jo-Jo would have been nothing serious as his form of hypertrichosis robbed him of all but two teeth. At other times he was quiet and dignified. He was known to be a gentle and generous man. He was described by the New York Herald as being as playful as a puppy with his audiences and ‘the most absorbingly interesting curiosity to ever reach these shores’. He was an avid reader and spoke as many as five languages. Following his stint with Barnum he continued to tour the world. He briefly returned to the United States to join up with the Barnum and Bailey’s Circus.
In 1904, during a tour of Greece, Jo-Jo contracted pneumonia. He died shortly thereafter at the age of 35 with no heirs or romances of note. However, when new of his passing reached the United States he was mourned by sideshow performers and enthusiast everywhere.
For more information on hypertrichosis, I highly recommend Mutants by Armand Marie Leroi.
© 2006 – 2009, J Tithonus Pednaud. All rights reserved.
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RECOMMENDED READING
American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia
Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit
Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination
Freaks, Geeks, and Strange Girls
Pickled Punks & Girlie Shows: A Life Spent on the Midways of America
The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins
The Circus Age: Culture and Society under the American Big Top
Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body
James Taylor's Shocked and Amazed: On & Off the Midway
THE AUTHOR
J Tithonus Pednaud has dedicated this site to highlighting the remarkable lives of those born exceedingly different. These so-called freaks and human oddities stand as uplifting testaments to human spirit and serve as inspiring examples of human tenacity.
16 Responses to “FEDOR JEFTICHEIVE – Jo-Jo The Dog-Faced Boy”
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Wow this is a really amazing story! It’s upsetting though how they treated Jo-Jo like a dog!
Love the site, lisa
I guess you could call him a Wookie, though thats still pretty disrespectful.
Am I a freak for thinking this guy’s freaking adorable? ._.
I don’t think you are, I said the same thing. :]
Of course, we could just both be freaks lol
Actully he had a breif romance with my great great grandmother he moved on before even she knew she was pregnet. it was a great scandel (can you imagine!) and her parents wanted her to abounden the “dog mans” baby but she kept it a boy named Tallen who grew to be furry out of his nine children five had fur Sarah, Lilly, James, Alice,and Haroled. Alice my grandmother had five childred two of wich have fur Crystal and Aster. My mother Ralyn has four children of which one of us has fur my brother Sam. i dont know much about my Great Great grandfather but what i do know comes from my Great Great grandmothers dieary. i am named after her, her name was Aridiea Maria Estell.
Dear Ms Miller,
I am in the process of writing an article for a professional dermatlogy journal about your great great grandfather, Fedor Jefticheive. Your family history intrigues me. Do you know of any other family stories related to your famous ancestor? Do you know if any of your relatives who had the extra hair were also missing teeth?
Do you have any way of contacting Aridiea Miller and asking her if she would contact me using my email address
I am writing an article on Fedor Jeftichew and would love to confirm with her her claim of descent
Hello Mr.Bernhardt,
my brother Sam is indeed missing teeth and also, Sarah and Alice did not have any teeth although sam use’s false teeth if you wish i could send you a photo copy of my great great grandmother’s diery if that would help you at all. if your looking for proof im sory but there was no availbe tests at the time so all i can offer you is the diery and my fur filled relitives
Today I found a “cabinet card” photo of Fedor (Jo’Jo’) mixed with the old photos of my ancestors and thought I would look him up. It’s of him as a boy. He looks about 15? (Maybe 1883-1885?). If anyone is interested in buying it, make me an offer. It’s in perfect condition and taken by the photographer Chas Eisenmann, “the popular photographer of 229 Bowery, N.Y.” (stamped on back)
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