Aemilius Jarvis

Edward Aemilius Jarvis (April 25, 1860 – December 19, 1940) was a Canadian financier, equestrian, and sailor. Jarvis was instrumental in forming the Royal Canadian Navy during World War I, recruiting both ships and men. Jarvis was notable in Toronto business circles and helped build the King Edward Hotel and Arena Gardens. He was convicted of conspiracy in the Ontario Bond Scandal of 1922, and never cleared of the conviction although his pardon was petitioned several times. He was fined and served several months in jail. He remained a prominent figure in Toronto sailing and business circles until his death in 1940. Life and career Jarvis was born on April 25, 1860, in rural York County north of Toronto, to William Dummer Powell Jarvis, a lawyer, and Diana Irving Jarvis, a family of Loyalist descent and associated with the Family Compact of Upper Canada. Jarvis' grandfather was Samuel Peters Jarvis and his great-grandfather was William Jarvis. In 1860, the family moved to Hamilton, Ontario to be closer to his mother's family, the Irvings. Jarvis attended Upper Canada College, leaving at age 16 in 1876. In 1884, Jarvis married his first cousin Augustus Irving, who died after World War I. He later married Marion Gertrude Read in 1929. He fathered three daughters and three sons, one of whom, Bill was killed in World War I. Beginning in 1878, Jarvis apprenticed as a banker at the Bank of Hamilton, and eventually became president of the Trader's Bank of Canada in Toronto. Jarvis formed Æmilius Jarvis & Co. financial company, which figured in the later bond scandal. In his role as financier, Jarvis helped found the Hamilton Iron and Steel Company, later known as Stelco. He helped create the British Columbia salmon canning industry through the companies that still market Clover Leaf sea food products today. In 1899, the Toronto Hotel Company was founded by Jarvis, with the support of George Cox (of Canada Life and the Bank of Commerce) and George Gooderham (of Gooderham & Worts Distillery). The Toronto Hotel Co. built the King Edward "King Eddy" hotel, which opened in 1903. He also operated a stud farm -called Hazelburn- in Aurora, Ontario, breeding hunter-jumper horses.