Jarvis, George O. (George Ogelvie), 1795-1875 [The following is excerpted from the Proceedings of the Connecticut Medical Society, 1875, p. 430: ... Show moreJarvis, George O. (George Ogelvie), 1795-1875 [The following is excerpted from the Proceedings of the Connecticut Medical Society, 1875, p. 430: “Memoir of George O. Jarvis, M.D., of Portland” by C.E. Hammond, M.D., of Portland] “Dr. George O. Jarvis, the subject of our brief sketch, was a son of John Jarvis, of New Canaan, Conn., born July 14, 1795. Receiving such education as the schools of that earlier day offered, he became himself a teacher in his turn, and at a proper age began the study of medicine with Dr. Truman S. Whitmore, of Winchester, Conn. He afterwards attended lectures at Yale College, - the medical department of that institution being then in its early infancy. In 1817, in accordance with the usual custom of that day, Dr. Jarvis received from the Connecticut Medical Society a license to practice, and commenced his professional labors in the town of Torrington. He remained in that place two years; then removed to Colebrook, and continued there up to 1840, when he changed his residence to Portland, then a part of the town of Chatham; where he died of a combined attack of erysipelas and diphtheria, Feb. 3, 1875, after a brief illness of about one week, having been in active professional service for fifty-eight years. He received the degree of M.D. from Yale College in 1846. In his intellectual capacity, Dr. Jarvis was above the average man. His intuitions were active, his logic was clear, and his judgement correct. He had strength of will, fixity of purpose, and energy of action. He was decided and positive in his opinions, but not without good and sufficient reasons for entertaining them, His inventive turn of mind, and a faculty of adjusting means to ends, gave him an inclination to the practice of surgery; and at one period a considerable portion of the surgical business of his selection came into his hands. His attention to some cases of fracture about the year 1843 led to the invention of his apparatus known as “Jarvis Adjuster,” for the extension and treatment of fractures and dislocations. His invention met with the approval of many of the first surgeons of the country, and was introduced largely into public hospitals. In 1845 the doctor went to Europe with his invention, spending six months in introducing it to the notice of the profession in England and on the continent. It was well received; and he was awarded, by the Society for the Promotion of Arts and Commerce, the largest gold metal which up to that time had been given to an American citizen. The presentation was made by Prince Albert, then the President of the Society. Dr. Jarvis was entitled to be proud of this distinguished honor.” This series of letters is written by George O. Jarvis, M.D. to his distant relation Samuel Farman Jarvis, D.D. The first 3 in the series are requests for money to support George’s nephew Charles’ attendance at Washington College in Hartford, CT. The letters from 1844-1845 describe George’s trip to London to promote his invention of a Surgical Adjuster. His 1845 pamphlet: “Instructions for using the Surgical Adjuster” has been digitized by Google Books. The letters give a vivid description of the city of London; its churches and cathedrals, museums and scholarly societies. They are also a personal account of travel as well as the anxieties, frustrations and triumphs that accompany self-promotion. Show less