Thomas Jarvis senior

1722 - 1785


Biography

Thomas Jarvis senior, President of the Council of Antigua and husband of Rachel Thibou, through whom according to Vere Langford Oliver he 'inherited' Thibou's estate and Long Island in Antigua (in fact his wife Rachel Jarvis (q.v) survived him). Thomas Jarvis sen. was Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench upon his death in 1785.

  1. Father of 21 children, including Thomas and Christiana (each of whom q.v.) and Jane Jarvis (1772-1796), the first wife of Lachlan Macquarie, who has an entry in the ODNB as 'army officer and colonial governor' who was a significant individual in the settlement of Australia as governor in chief of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land between 1810 and 1821. Lachlan Macquarie reportedly used the legacy he had received from Jane Jarvis of £6000 to fund part of his purchase of land on the island of Mull in 1802, the basis of the estate he built up there which he named Jarvisfield.

  2. 1744, 21 Sept. Jarvis (Jorvis) Thomas. Britannus, Sept. 21, 1744, aet. 22. Med. M.D. Edin., 1744 (Indo-Antigua). S. of Thomas, merchant, of Antigua. M.A. Glasg., 1741. Practised at Antigua and became President of H.M. Council and Chief Judge of the Island.


Sources

T71/877 Antigua claim no. 30.

Vere Langford Oliver, The History of the island of Antigua ... from the first settlement in 1635 to the present time (3 vols., London, Mitchell and Hughes, 1894-99) Vol. 3 pp. 124, 228, 320, 321.

  1. John Ritchie, ‘Macquarie, Lachlan (1761–1824)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17735, accessed 29 Jan 2014]; Macquarie University, 'The Lachlan & Elizabeth Macquarie Room', 'The "Jarvisfield" Estate', https://www.mq.edu.au/about/campus-services-and-facilities/museums-and-collections/the-lachlan-and-elizabeth-macquarie-room/jarvisfield-estate [accessed 09/11/2018].

  2. R.W. Innes Smith, English-speaking students of medicine at the University of Leyden (Edinburgh/London : Oliver and Boyd, 1932), p. 126.

We are grateful for the help of Stanley Robert Criens with this entry.


Further Information

Spouse
Rachel Thibou
Children
Thomas (1750-), William (1756-1808), Christiana (1765-), Jane (1772-1796)
University
Glasgow; Edinburgh; Leyden [1741-1744 ]
Occupation
Politician and plantation owner

Associated Claims (1)

£4,194 12s 7d
Previous owner (not making a claim)

Associated Estates (1)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
1755 [SY] - 1785 [EY] → Owner

Thomas Jarvis through his marriage to Rachel Thibou became possessed of the Thibou's estate and Long Island. In 1755 he entered into a deed with George Blount and his wife Hester or Esther of Henley-upon-Thames (Esther was the relict of Jacob Thibou the younger, d. c. 1741 in England, the brother of Rachel Thibou and son and heir of Jacob Thibou senior late of Antigua, merchant) to lease Esther's dower interest in 2/3 of the real estate her lifetime for £580 currency a year.


Legacies Summary

Imperial (2)

Other
Australia 
notes →
Two of his daughters married people with imperial connections. Jane Jarvis (1772-1796) married Lachlan Macquarie (1762-1824), a soldier in the 77th Regiment who was stationed in Bombay from 1788 to...
sources →
N. D. McLachlan, 'Macquarie, Lachlan (1762–1824)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <a...
East India Company
Other  
notes →
Two of his daughters married people with imperial connections. Jane Jarvis (1772-1796) married Lachlan Macquarie (1762-1824), a soldier in the 77th Regiment who was stationed in Bombay from 1788 to...
sources →
N. D. McLachlan, 'Macquarie, Lachlan (1762–1824)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <a...

Relationships (7)

Father → Son
Father → Daughter
Grandfather → Grand-daughter
Grandfather → Grand-daughter
Grandfather → Grandson
Grandfather → Grandson
Deceased Husband → Widow