Samuel Jarvis

Samuel Peters Jarvis
Samuel Peters Jarvis
	; Samuel Jarvis was a member of The Family Compact, a group of an elite political and business class in Ontario in the 1800s
Born	1792-11-15; Niagara-on-the-Lake
Died	1857-09-06; Toronto
Occupation	government official

Samuel Jarvis was a Canadian official and military officer, in Upper Canada. His father, William Jarvis, was Provincial Secretary and Registrar -- a highly placed official.^[1]^[2]

Duel with John Ridout

In July 1817 a dispute over money triggered a fatal duel with John Ridout, the teenage son of Thomas Ridout. Jarvis owed Thomas Ridout money, and John had gone to collect. The duel took place on July 12, 1817. The rule for this duel were that the duelists would turn to face one another, wait through a count of three, then fire simultaneously. Ridout fired early, on two, and missed. The duelist's seconds agreed that Ridout should stand, and wait for Jarvis to take his shot.

After Ridout's death Jarvis was charged with murder. At his trial all the witness agreed that Ridout lived long enough to tell Jarvis he forgave him. But the autopsy found Jarvis's bullet had blown out Ridout's trachea and Jugular veins, causing almost immediate death, and making speech impossible.

Jarvis was awaiting trial when his own father died, and because he was in jail, he was unable to attend.

This is said to have been the last duel in Upper Canada.^[3]

References

↑ Robert J. Burns (1983). "JARVIS, WILLIAM – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2025-12-09. His financial problems were not, however, entirely the fault of White or an uncaring Executive Council. At times, changes in land regulations invalidated his work and often he himself was inefficient and careless. In 1800 Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter discovered that many of the deeds issued by Jarvis contained irregularities such as erasures and corrections, or were drawn up on paper rather than parchment. Hunter censured him and provided strict instructions for the preparation of documents – instructions which by Jarvis’s estimate rendered useless £475 worth of deeds.
↑ Edith G. Firth (1988). "PETERS, HANNAH (Jarvis) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
↑ Mike Filey (2003). Toronto Sketches 7: The Way We Were. Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-448-5. One other interesting fact about Samuel Peters Jarvis is that he holds the distinction of being the "winner" of Toronto's last duel.

[CdnBioWilliamJarvis-1] Robert J. Burns (1983). "JARVIS, WILLIAM – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2025-12-09. His financial problems were not, however, entirely the fault of White or an uncaring Executive Council. At times, changes in land regulations invalidated his work and often he himself was inefficient and careless. In 1800 Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter discovered that many of the deeds issued by Jarvis contained irregularities such as erasures and corrections, or were drawn up on paper rather than parchment. Hunter censured him and provided strict instructions for the preparation of documents – instructions which by Jarvis’s estimate rendered useless £475 worth of deeds.

[CdnBioHannahJarvis-2] Edith G. Firth (1988). "PETERS, HANNAH (Jarvis) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2025-12-09.

[FileySketches7-3] Mike Filey (2003). Toronto Sketches 7: The Way We Were. Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-448-5. One other interesting fact about Samuel Peters Jarvis is that he holds the distinction of being the "winner" of Toronto's last duel.

[1]

[2]

[3]