HON. THOMAS JORDAN JARVIS. Among the first settlers who penetrated the unbroken forests of the Albemarle about the middle of the seventeenth century was Thomas Jarvis, and from that time to the present the name has been a familiar one to the people of that section. During the revolutionary war Gen. Samuel Jarvis led the forces of that district to the rendezvous on Deep River to cover expected operations from South Carolina. A scion of the same family is Thomas Jordan Jarvis, who was born in Currituck County, on January 18th, 1836. Straitened circumstances denied him the advantages of early education, but by the aid of friends he entered Randolph Macon College, and with money earned by teaching at intervals, he completed his course there, graduating in 1860, when he again established himself as a teacher.
In June, 1861, when the Slate called upon her sons for volunteers, he closed his school in Pasquotank County and enlisted as a soldier for the war. His service was in both the 17th and the 8th Regiment of State Troops, and as Captain of a company in the latter regiment he displayed fortitude, endurance and bravery that were not excelled by any of his associates in arms. He was an excellent soldier—brave, cool, determined and unflinching in the presence of danger. Called to endure many perils and vicissitudes he escaped unscathed until on the 17th of May, 1804, at Drury's Bluff, he received a wound that disabled him and since then his right arm has hung paralyzed and useless at his side.
When peace came, he turned to mercantile pursuits and opened a store in Tyrrell County, at the same time studying law and entering quickly upon the activities of life. In the fall of 1865 he was elected to the State Convention from Currituck, and thus began his career as a public man. Obtaining his license the following year, he entered zealously upon the practice of the law, evincing, however, a patriotic interest in those political questions which so deeply agitated the people of the State at that period.
In 1868 he was elected as a Democrat to the Legislature, from Tyrrell, and in the fall made an extensive canvass as an Elector on the Seymour and Blair ticket. When the Legislature met, he allied himself with John V. Graham, Plato Durham, Jas. L. Robinson and the few other Democrats of that body, in strenuous opposition to the measures of the Republican majority. They were but a handful of gallant spirits who threw themselves in the breach; but they stood steadfast, unmovable in their adherence to the interests of the State, and as the session grew, so arose the fame of these young men, whose position gave them leadership in the Democratic party, and whose wisdom and prudence and sterling worth won them the confidence of the people. Their triumph in establishing the Bragg-Phillips Investigating Committee and in repealing the special tax laws, was complete, and the people loved to do them honor. To their action was largely due the course of events which culminated in a Waterloo defeat of the Republicans at the ensuing election, the pacification of the State at that early date, and the possibility of the State's entering so soon upon au era of quiet and prosperity. When the new Assembly met, Capt. Jarvis was tendered the Speaker's chair—and he discharged with marked address and acceptability the delicate duties of that post. The Democratic-Conservative party was then in a formative state, and the Speaker exercised a great influence in welding the discordant fragments of the old parties into a solid and enduring organization. At the end of that Assembly in 1872 he returned to the law, forming a partnership with David M. Carter—but canvassed the State as an Elector on the Greeley ticket. Three years later he was a member of the Constitutional Convention, from Pitt, and to his address and the prudence of Gov. Reid was due the power of the Democracy to control that body, which was evenly divided between the parties.
In 1876 Gov. Vance was nominated for Governor and Capt. Jarvis was placed on the ticket with him, making again an extensive canvass throughout the western counties. Two years later he succeeded Gov. Vance, and on the expiration of that term, he was chosen Governor by the people for a lull term. During these six years in which he was Governor, he impressed himself more oil the active industries of the State than any other Governor we have ever had. In council he was prudent and searching; in action bold and progressive. He believed that the people looked to the occupant of the executive office to give direction to public measures, and he was not afraid to assume responsibility. When he saw a duty clearly, he pressed forward vigorously to its full discharge, and he regarded that the Governor of the State was in some measure the head of the party as well as the director of public affairs. In every political campaign he largely participated—giving a detailed account of his stewardship and demanding public confidence in his administration because of its cleanness, integrity and rigid performance of every duty and strict adherence to every pledge. He knew no favorite section in his duties as Governor, but worked persistently for the benefit and advantage of all sections. He secured the adoption of the county government system for the East—the construction of the Western N. C. Railroad for the West. And, indeed, it may be asserted that no State can boast a more splendid administration than that of Gov. Jarvis— one in which, considering the poor facilities and crippled resources at hand, more has been accomplished for the erection of public institutions, for the advancement of education and for the promotion of beneficent public purposes and the establishment of industrial prosperity. On his retirement from the executive office, he was appointed by President Cleveland U. S. Minister to Brazil, which distinguished post he still fills.
Gov. Jarvis is by no means a brilliant man, but he is a logical reasoner—is clear in his conceptions and has a mind capable of comprehending the details of the most complicated subject. As u speaker, he is slow and deliberate; plain in his statements, but forcible in expression; ready with homely illustrations and convincing in his argumentation. His speeches never tire his audience, and although they do not abound in high flights of oratory, they please, interest, instruct and convince. As a popular speaker, lie is indeed of rare excellence.
[Source: Sketches of prominent living North Carolinians; By Jerome Dowd; Publ. 1888; Pgs. 21-24; Transcribed for Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]