Samuel Peters Jarvis

Samuel Peters Jarvis (November 15, 1792 – September 6, 1857) was a Canadian government official in the nineteenth century. He was the Chief Superintendent for the Indian Department in Upper Canada (1837–1845), and he was a member of the Family Compact. He survived the last duel held in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto).

Life and career Jarvis was born to William Jarvis and Hannah Owens Peters in Newark, Upper Canada. He moved with his family to York, (Toronto) Upper Canada, in 1798. It was the last such quasi-legal duel in Toronto.

Later life

In October 1818, Jarvis married Mary Boyles Powell, the daughter of William Dummer Powell who had presided over his trial for the shooting of John Ridout. Around 1822 Jarvis moved onto land which he had inherited from his father, Hazel Burn, a lot between Queen Street and Bloor Street. He cleared the southern part of the lot and erected an estate.

On June 8, 1826, Jarvis and fourteen others, disguised as Indians, broke into the offices of William Lyon Mackenzie's newspaper Colonial Advocate, where they smashed his printing press and threw it into Toronto Harbour. This act was in retaliation for negative editorials which Mackenzie had run about members of the Family Compact. Mackenzie sued and won £625, which was paid by donations from the Family Compact, and Mackenzie was able to set up a larger operation.

Jarvis was named Chief Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Upper Canada in 1837, replacing James Givins. A three-man commission appointed to investigate complaints about the Department of Indian Affairs found substantial problems there. Witnesses to the commission testified about occurrences of bribery, fraud, religious discrimination and lack of interest in the welfare of the Indians under its supervision. To repay the government the money he had stolen from the Indian Department, Jarvis was forced to sell Hazel Burn to pay the £4000 that he owed the government. The estate was divided into town lots with a street through the tract. The street is now named Jarvis Street.

Jarvis and his wife had several children. A son, Samuel Peters Jarvis Jr. CMG (1820–1905), was a British Army officer (Major General) who served in South Africa and died in England.