 His parents were George Jarvis and Abbie Vincent.He graduated from the University of Vermont Medical College in 1904, and began practicing medicine in Barre, Vermont in 1909.Jarvis's wife was named Pearl Macomber, and they had a daughter, Sylvia Jarvis Smith (b. June 29, 1914, d. December 27, 2009), who graduated from the University of Vermont in 1936.