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Jarvis Lord was the son of
Daniel and Clarissa (Seeley) Lord. He came to Pittsford in 1843 at the
age of 27 and entered the grocery business but soon bought a
house and farm opposite the New York Central
Auburn Line Depot.
He was an
important man in Rochester. He had large interests in a number of banks,
was the
president of the Monroe Bank and owned the "National Hotel".
He was a prominent
Democratic politician and, in 1861 and 1864, he ran for Canal
Commissioner; but was defeated both times. He was a member of the New York State Assembly and was the Democratic minority's
candidate for Speaker.
He obtained canal and railroad construction contracts and
presumably made a great deal of money. He and his
second wife, Zilpha (Tibbets), owned a distillery in Cartersville,
which burned in 1878 but was never rebuilt.
In 1876–77, he was accused in connection with
the Canal
Ring frauds, and became a defendant in a series of trials.
Throughout his adult career the papers spoke of him as a cheat,
a grifter and
a fraud. At various times he was taken into court by
the state of New York and by the Monroe Bank. Apparently he came
through unscathed every time.
Jarvis seemed to be well liked on a personal level, though, and was
elected to the NYS Assembly in 1858 and the Senate in1869.
He died in July 24, 1887 and the papers gave much space to
his funeral, which was held in Pittsford. It was attended
by a trainload of friends from
Rochester who came to Pittsford on the Auburn line.
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