William Jarvis (Upper Canada official)

William Jarvis (September 11, 1756 – August 13, 1817) was the Connecticut-born head of the Jarvis family in what is now Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

William Jarvis
William Jarvis
Chairman of the Home District Council
In office
1800–1811
Preceded by?
Succeeded byThomas Ridout
ConstituencyYork, Upper Canada
Personal details
BornSeptember 11, 1756
Stamford, Connecticut
DiedAugust 13, 1817(1817-08-13) (aged 60)
York, Upper Canada
Political partyFamily Compact
Spouse(s)Hanna Owen Peters
Children3, including Samuel Jarvis
OccupationPolitician

Life and career

Jarvis was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to Samuel Jarvis, who was the town's clerk, and Martha Seymour.

William Jarvis joined John Graves Simcoe’s Queen's Rangers in 1777. He was wounded at the Battle of Spencer's Ordinary in Virginia in 1781 and was commissioned cornet in late 1782. At the cessation of the American Revolutionary War he went on half pay and returned to Connecticut. There the hostility to the loyalists often resulted in violence, and on one occasion Jarvis was injured. In 1784 or 1785 he travelled to England where he secured Simcoe as a patron. Simcoe recommended him in 1791 to the Home secretary, Henry Dundas, for the positions of provincial secretary and clerk of the Executive Council of the newly established province of Upper Canada. He immigrated to Canada with his brother, Stephen Jarvis. He served as Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Upper Canada from 1791 until his death in 1817.[1]

Secretary Jarvis was working in Niagara when Simcoe came to Toronto, known as York, and he accompanied him to the new settlement.[2] A plaque for a stained-glass window honouring William Jarvis at the Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto) states "First Provincial Grand Master of the Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons".

Upon arriving in York, he purchased a large park lot and built a residence. After his death, the property was divided by his descendants and the home was sold. It was acquired by a man named Lee, who operated an English chop house and billiard room in the home.

Jarvis was married to Hannah Owen Peters, daughter of the Reverend Samuel Peters of Hebron, Connecticut. They had three children. Their son was Samuel Jarvis, who also became a prominent member of the Family Compact. Their two daughters were Maria Lavinia (1788) and Augusta (1790).[3]

William and Hannah Jarvis were unrepentant slave-owners.[4] Henry Lewis made his way to New York state, where he wrote Jarvis, offering to buy his freedom.

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References
  1. Burns, Robert. "Jarvis William". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5.
  2. Peppiatt, Liam. "Chapter 45: Home of Secretary Jarvis". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited.
  3. Thompson, Austin Seaton (1980). Jarvis Street : a story of triumph and tragedy. Toronto: Personal Library Publishers. p. 6. ISBN 0-920510-15-9.
  4. "Henry Lewis: seeking freedom". Archives of Ontario. Retrieved 2019-06-14. Hannah Jarvis incorrectly wrote about the Slave Act that Simcoe... 'has by a piece of chacanery freed all the negroes...'

Bibliography

Preceded by:
?

 Chairman of the Home District Council 1800-1811

Succeeded by:
Thomas Ridout

Preceded by:
none

 Provincial Secretary of Upper Canada 1791-1817

Succeeded by:
Sir John Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto

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