Jarvis, son of a Methodist minister, was teaching in Pasquotank County, NC when the war began. He enlisted as a private in the 17th NC Infantry on May 4, 1861, serving only few weeks when he was commissioned on May 16, 1861 as 2nd lieutenant in Co. B of the 8th NC Infantry, a company he organized in Currituck County, NC. He was taken prisoner on February 8, 1862 at Roanoke Island, NC and exchanged in late summer 1862. He was promoted to captain on April 22, 1863. Jarvis was wounded in the right shoulder and arm at Drewry's Bluff, VA on May 14, 1864. Five inches of his upper right arm were resectioned that day in General Hospital No. 4 in Richmond, and the remarks in his records indicate he was "doing well," although he would never regain use of the arm. He recuperated in Richmond and Petersburg until finally being sent home to NC, his war service over.
He operated a store in Tyrell County, NC and studied law right after the war, and began practicing law in 1867. Jarvis was elected to the NC state legislature in 1868, the beginning of a long political career. He served as North Carolina's lieutenant-governor from 1877-1879, when he became governor, an office he held until 1885 when he was appointed U.S. Minister to Brazil. He left the ambassadorship in 1889 and practiced law. He served briefly in the US Senate 1894-1895, returning to his law practice afterwards. Jarvis was known as a strong proponent of public education. He died January 17, 1915 and is buried in Cherry Hill Cemetery in Greenville, NC.
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