JARVIS, Capt. Frederick: 1818 - 1887
Tile ordered and paid for by Caroline Jarvis,* Toronto, Ontario, October 1888
Frederick William Jarvis, born February 7, 1818, was the eldest of twelve children born to Frederick Starr Jarvis and Susan Merigold. He was the eldest of thirty-nine grandchildren of devoted Loyalist, Colonel Stephen Jarvis (Tile # 47), a distinguished officer for the Loyalist cause during the American Revolution of 1776.
Frederick’s father Frederick Starr, as the eldest son of Colonel Stephen Jarvis, had obtained property on Lake Ontario near present-day Oakville and had built a log home and cleared about fifteen acres when the War of 1812 interrupted progress and he joined the militia and went off to defend Upper Canada.(1)
Young Frederick attended Upper Canada College and lived and worked on the family farm until, at the age of thirty, he moved to Toronto to take up the position of Deputy to the Sheriff of the Home District, his uncle William Botsford Jarvis (Tile # 51). When his uncle retired in 1856, Frederick, at the age of thirty-eight, became the next Sheriff of the Home District (York and Peel). When the districts were divided, he became Sheriff of York and held this office until his death.
In 1856 Frederick married Caroline Skynner,* the daughter of a retired naval officer. They built a fine home, christened Woodlawn, at 421 Jarvis Street where Jarvis Collegiate stands today. They had five children, four boys (one of whom died very young) and one daughter.
Frederick Jarvis witnessed many exciting incidents of Toronto’s early life. He had charge of a number of prisoners taken during the Fenian Invasion. During the 1837 rebellion, he was called out on active service and marched up Yonge Street under arms with a party of twenty-seven loyalist volunteers at the time of the incident known as the Battle of Montgomery’s Tavern.(2) Frederick served in the Queen’s Rangers, was appointed Captain of the First Battalion of York Militia by Lord Elgin, and received a further commission from Lord Elgin, appointing him Captain of the Toronto Militia in August 1852.
In private life he was a quiet, courteous gentleman, respected and popular with those who knew him best. An 1888 biography notes “He was a much respected citizen, and as highly esteemed as he was well-known. He filled the position of Sheriff of York, the richest shrievalty at the disposal of the Ontario government, with dignity and ability.”(3) He was for many years a member of St. Peter’s Church, a churchwarden, and a delegate to the Synod. He was deeply interested in the Mimico Industrial School and supported a number of charities.
Frederick Jarvis died April 16, 1887. He was survived by his wife, Caroline, who sponsored this tile one year after his death, and three sons and his daughter. He is buried in St. James Cemetery, Toronto.(4)
1. Ann Jarvis Boa, My Eventful Life: Stephen Jarvis, U.E., 1756-1840 (Montreal: Price Patterson, 2002), p. 162.
2. “Battle of Montgomery’s Tavern,” www.wikipedia.ca, accessed May 2011.
3. George Maclean Rose, A Cyclopedia of Canadian Biography (Toronto: Rose Publishing, 1888), p. 171.
4. Information from biography of Capt. Frederick Jarvis, compiled by Bob Jarvis; personal communication.