When one thinks about it, it’s a little astounding to know as much as we do about someone born almost three hundred years ago.
Meet Johannes Meffert, also known as John. John was born on January 24, 1732 making him an Aquarian, and because he was born Oberdorfelden, Hessen, he was German.
For any number of reasons, however, John and his family didn’t stay in Germany, nor did many of their countrymen. The 18th century saw a lot of Germans immigrate to America. Sick of wars, and still suffering hardship from the coldest European winter in 500 years, John’s father, Andreas, a day laborer, applied to the Hessen-Hanau Privy Council for permission to emigrate to Pennsylvania. He got it, but only under the condition that he never return. So John, his parents, Andreas and Maria, and his siblings, Maria and Casper, boarded the Ranier and sailed to Philadelphia. Andreas anglicized his name to Andrew and went on to acquire a small farm in Coventry, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
In 1762, the family moved to Frederick County, Maryland, and a year after that, they relocated to Scott County, Kentucky, always pursuing better opportunities.
John grew up and served as a First Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1776 under Captain John Carmack’s Company. He married twice, first to Susanna, and then to Catherine. John would have at least seven sons and a daughter named Sarah, though we’re not sure which woman was mother to whom.
John, presumably, lived a life filled with challenges, laughter, heartache, and all the other things that encompass the human condition. In his wildest dreams, however, John could never have imagined the life that two of his descendents would have.
John died at the age of 63 and is believed to be buried in Eastern Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, and the only reason we know this is because when the film, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” about the life of Fred “Mr. Rogers” was made and released in 2019, a rather amazing discovery was made through genealogical research conducted by Ancestry.com.
Tasked with finding with finding interesting connections between Fred Rogers (who had died in 2003) and the actor depicting him, Tom Hanks, genealogists struck gold.
They discovered that both Tom Hanks and Fred Rogers had John Meffert as a common ancestor, and that Rogers and Hanks were sixth cousins. Specifically, three of John’s sons served in the Revolutionary War. William Mefford was Fred Rogers’ 4x great-grandfather (he served in the Navy and was captured by the British in 17821). The other brother was Jacob Mefford, Tom Hanks’ 4x great-grandfather who joined the War as a private and participated in a skirmish at Chesapeake Bay.
What are the odds?
We confess that this wild coincidence sidetracked us from our original intent which was to mention Tom Hanks’ white German Shepherd Dog, Monty. Hanks’ lost Monty in 2012, and perhaps the first that anyone had heard about the dog was when Hanks wrote a tribute to Monty on social media: “‘Monty. Deep brown eyes, noble demeanor, finest dog ever. A sad day. Goodbye Big Boy. Hanx.” We like to share the breeds owned by celebrities, but the Meffert x Rogers x Hanks connection was just too interesting not to share.
Our top image of a white German Shepherd Dog is not Monty, a dog photographed by Thomas de Fretes. And for anyone wondering, the “White Shepherd” is a direct descendant of the German Shepherd Dog. It was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 2014. The color white, however, is not allowed by the FCI, nor by the AKC. A little homework tells us that there was a white German Shepherd Dog named “Grief” born in Frankfurt in 1879. This dog was mated to “Lotte,” and among his pups was “Lene.” Lene was paired with “Kastor,” and she whelped Horand von Grafrath. Horand was the first registered German Shepherd Dog with a new breed registry and given the inaugural registration number SZ1. The “father of the GSD,” Max von Stephanitz, used Horand von Grafrath as the cornerstone of his breeding program to establish and standardize the German Shepherd Dog breed, and it’s said that virtually every German Shepherd Dog alive today can trace his or her lineage back to Horand.