NATHAN JARVIS PAPERS, 1826-1851

Vault A45, Jarvis, Unit 2

EXTENT:  3.5 linear feet (5 containers)

ORGANIZATION:  Organized into three series: I. Correspondence; II. Manuscripts; III. Documents.

BIOGRAPHY:  Merchant in Boston and New Orleans.  Born in Concord, Mass., in 1808, Nathan Jarvis was the youngest son of Deacon Francis Jarvis, and the brother of Captain Francis Jarvis (born 1794); Charles Jarvis (1800); Dr. Edward Jarvis (1803); and Stephen Jarvis (1806).  Educated in Concord schools, he began work at age 16 in a Boston apothecary.  In 1828, with the help of his father, he purchased the apothecary, which he operated until 1832, when he gave up the store due to chronic rheumatism.  After traveling to Cuba to improve his health, Nathan Jarvis moved to New Orleans, where he went into business with John W. Andrews, establishing the firm of Jarvis and Andrews.  The firm sold wholesale drugs, as well as paints, oils, and window glass.  Nathan was an active member of the New Orleans community, serving on the board of aldermen; the school committee; and as a deacon in the Unitarian Church.  In 1841, he traveled to Europe, visiting England, Scotland, France, Belgium, and Germany.  In 1845, Nathan married Ellen Alvarez Chinn.  Their children: Melissa, Richard, and Ellen.  Died in the explosion of the S.S. Anglo-Norman, a steamboat on the Mississippi River, January 1851.

SCOPE AND CONTENT:  Correspondence (1826-1851) includes letters primarily from Nathan Jarvis.  Recipients include Almira (Hunt) Jarvis (Mrs. Edward), Edward Jarvis, Deacon Francis Jarvis, Stephen Jarvis, Rev. Ezra Ripley, and others.  A number of items are authored by more than one person; for example, several letters from Nathan are co-authored with Stephen Jarvis or Edward Jarvis; and after 1845, with Ellen Jarvis.

Correspondence between 1828 and 1832 is written largely from Boston.  It contains information about Nathan’s business matters, some with financial calculations for his Boston apothecary.  Many letters from this period are written to his father, Deacon Francis Jarvis in Concord.  A letter of May 1, 1832 to Edward chronicles his 11-day treatment for rheumatism at Massachusetts General Hospital.  In a letter of May 15, 1832, Nathan writes to Edward about the sale of his business.

The bulk of correspondence from 1833 to 1850 is written from New Orleans.  Subjects covered during these years include general family matters; business matters, including shipping receipts for items sent to Edward; Nathan’s visit to Europe (August-September 1841); his marriage to Ellen Chinn (1845); and a yellow fever outbreak in New Orleans (August 1847).  Several items from the years 1833 and 1834 are written during Nathan’s travels in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky.

Correspondence written between others forms a subseries of Series I.  It includes a copy of a telegraph notifying Edward Jarvis of Nathan’s death (1851); several letters between Edward Jarvis and Deacon Francis Jarvis (1832-1840); letters written by Ellen Jarvis to Almira and Edward Jarvis (1845-1851); and a letter written by E.M. Chinn to her sister, Susan Webb, on the subject of her daughter Ellen’s wedding to Nathan (1845).

Manuscripts (n.d., 1827 and 1836) include an item titled “Notes from the Journal of a Traveller”; a sermon; “Northfield Catechism, Vol. II,” and “Key to the Northfield Catechism.”  Documents (1833 and 1841) include an item written in Portuguese and bearing a seal, addressed to “Captain Jarvis,” possibly belonging to Stephen; and Nathan Jarvis’s passport from his 1841 visit to Europe.

SOURCE OF ACQUISITION:  Either given by Edward Jarvis, or a gift from his estate (1884/85).  Document in Box 4, Folder 19, “Carta da Saude,” given to Concord Free Public Library by Elsie Derby Wells in 1979.

ASSOCIATED MATERIALS:  Edward Jarvis Papers, William Munroe Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.

NOTES/COMMENTS:  Oversize materials (as identified in container list, below) are housed in Box 5.

PROCESSED BY: Angelina Altobellis; finding aid prepared 4/11/06.

CONTAINER LIST

SERIES I.  CORRESPONDENCE, 1826-1851:

Nathan Jarvis (as author or recipient, inclusive dates 1826-1850)

Box 1, Folder 1:
March-June 1826

Box 1, Folder 2:
July-September 1826

Box 1, Folder 3:
1827

Box 1, Folder 4:
June-September 1828

Box 1, Folder 5:
October-December 1828

Box 1, Folder 6:
January-April 1829

Box 1, Folder 7:
June-December 1829

Box 1, Folder 8:
February-May 1830

Box 5, oversize:
1830 January 20 and March 11

Box 1, Folder 9:
June-August 1830

Box 5, oversize:
1830 July 1, July 15, July 20, and August 9

Box 1, Folder 10:
September 1830

Box 1, Folder 11:
October 1830

Box 1, Folder 12:
November-December 1830

Box 1, Folder 13:
January-February 1831

Box 1, Folder 14:
March 1831

Box 1, Folder 15:
April 1831

Box 5, oversize:
1831 April 20

Box 1, Folder 16:
May 1831

Box 1, Folder 17:
June 1831

Box 1, Folder 18:
July 1831

Box 1, Folder 19:
August 1831

Box 1, Folder 20:
September 1831

Box 1, Folder 21:
October 1831

Box 1, Folder 22:
November-December 1831

Box 1, Folder 23:
January-February 1832

Box 1, Folder 24:
March-April 1832

Box 1, Folder 25:
May 1832

Box 1, Folder 26:
June-July 1832

Box 1, Folder 27:
August-September 1832

Box 1, Folder 28:
October-November 1832

Box 1, Folder 29:
December 1832

Box 2, Folder 1:
January 1833

Box 2, Folder 2:
February 1833

Box 2, Folder 3:
March 1833

Box 2, Folder 4:
April 1833

Box 2, Folder 5:
May-September 1833

Box 2, Folder 6:
October 1833

Box 2, Folder 7:
November-December 1833

Box 2, Folder 8:
January-March 1834

Box 2, Folder 9:
June-July 1834

Box 2, Folder 10:
August-October 1834

Box 2, Folder 11:
November-December 1834

Box 2, Folder 12:
January 1835

Box 2, Folder 13:
February 1835

Box 2, Folder 14:
March 1835

Box 2, Folder 15:
April-June 1835

Box 2, Folder 16:
July-August 1835

Box 2, Folder 17:
September-November 1835

Box 2, Folder 18:
December 1835

Box 2, Folder 19:
January-September 1836

Box 2, Folder 20:
October 1836

Box 2, Folder 21:
November-December 1836

Box 3, Folder 1:
January-February 1837

Box 3, Folder 2:
March-April 1837

Box 3, Folder 3:
May 1837

Box 3, Folder 4:
June 1837

Box 3, Folder 5:
July-September 1837

Box 5, oversize:
1837 September 29

Box 3, Folder 6:
November-December 1837

Box 3, Folder 7:
January-March 1838

Box 3, Folder 8:
April 1838

Box 3, Folder 9:
May-August 1838

Box 3, Folder 10:
September-November 1838

Box 3, Folder 11:
January-February 1839

Box 3, Folder 12:
March-April 1839

Box 3, Folder 13:
May-June 1839

Box 3, Folder 14:
July-August 1839

Box 3, Folder 15:
September-December 1839

Box 3, Folder 16:
January-February 1840

Box 3, Folder 17:
March-April 1840

Box 3, Folder 18:
May 1840

Box 3, Folder 19:
June-July 1840

Box 3, Folder 20:
August-December 1840

Box 3, Folder 21:
January-March 1841

Box 3, Folder 22:
April-July 1841

Box 3, Folder 23:
August-November 1841

Box 3, Folder 24:
1842

Box 3, Folder 25:
1843

Box 3, Folder 26:
February-September 1844

Box 3, Folder 27:
October-December 1844

Box 3, Folder 28:
January-April 1845

Box 3, Folder 29:
May-December 1845

Box 3, Folder 30:
1846

Box 3, Folder 31:
January-July 1847

Box 3, Folder 32:
August-December 1847

Box 4, Folder 1:
January-July 1848

Box 4, Folder 2:
August-December 1848

Box 4, Folder 3:
1849-1850

Correspondence by others (1832-1851)

Box 4, Folder 4:
Copy of telegraph to Edward Jarvis notifying him of the death of Nathan Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 5:
E.M. Chinn to Susan Webb

Box 4, Folder 6:
Edward Jarvis to Almira Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 7:
Edward Jarvis to Deacon Francis Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 8:
Ellen Jarvis to Almira and Edward Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 9:
Ellen Jarvis to Cyrus Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 10:
Ellen Jarvis to “my dear Girls”

Box 4, Folder 11:
Deacon Francis Jarvis to Edward Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 12:
Nephew to Deacon Francis Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 13:
Stephen Jarvis to Almira Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 14:
Stephen Jarvis to Deacon Francis Jarvis

Box 4, Folder 15:
Henry Moore to Stephen Jarvis

SERIES II.  MANUSCRIPTS, n.d., 1827 and 1836:

Box 4, Folder 16:
"Notes from the Journal of a Traveller," n.d.
With emendations, and note to Edward Jarvis concerning proofing of the ms.

Box 4, Folder 17:
Sermon, July 1827

Box 4, Folder 18:
"Northfield Catechism Vol. II"

Box 4, Folder 19:
"Key to the Northfield Catechism"

SERIES III.  DOCUMENTS, 1833 and 1841:

Box 4, Folder 19:
"Carta da Saude" for Captain (Stephen?) Jarvis, 1833 (in Portuguese)

Box 5, oversize:
Nathan Jarvis passport, 1841

c2006 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.

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Mounted 12th April 2006.   rcwh.