E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Jarvey.
A hackney-coach driver. Said to be a contraction of Geoffrey; and the reason why this name was selected was because coachmen say to their horses gee-o, and Ge-o’ is a contraction of Geoffrey. Ballantine says, that one Jarvis, a noted hackney-coachman who was hanged, was the original Jarvey.
1
A Jarvey’s benjamin. A coachman’s great-coat. (See BENJAMIN.)
