Vancouver / Names / A / Alley

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Alleys

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at five addresses

The directories print eight people named Alley at five addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Aley. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

Reserve this family's book, freeThe name in every directory we hold from 1901 to 1945, at every address, each line with its page, to read here or save as a PDF. About $29 when orders open.

Where the Alleys lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    1740 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs A M Alley, who kept rooms to let 1940
    • C H Alley, a tailor 1940

    Next door in 1940: H H Flowerdew at 1730 and C E Brettall at 1750. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1419 Pendrell Street

    West End, 1940

    • Frederick Alley 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M G Erskine at 1435. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3662 West 4th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • H Aley, a shoe repairer 1940

    Next door in 1940: W Livingstone at 3666. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2526 West 7th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • F R Alley, a carpenter 1940
    • Patricia J Alley, a stenographer at the Canadian Bank of Commerce 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M J Browning at 2516 and J C Barton at 2536. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3719 West 7th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • H Aley, a shoe repairer 1940
    • George Aley 1940

    Next door in 1940: H O Bell at 3707 and J Kirkland at 3731. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the eight: a carpenter, a shoe repairer, a stenographer and a tailor.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano (2), West End (2) and West Point Grey. Each neighbourhood's page shows its trades, its people and every street in it, the way the directory printed them.

The story, address by address

In 1940 the directory lists C H Alley, a tailor, at 1740 Nelson Street; the 1940 line is marked *: some member of the family owns the property, to the best of our knowledge (the directory's own mark). By 1940 it is Mrs A M Alley, rooms to let. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Mrs Annie M Alley there, who kept rooms to let, with Charles H Alley, a tailor. The 1940 name section lists Frederick Alley at 1419 Pendrell Street.

In 1940 the directory lists H Aley, a shoe repairer, at 3662 West 4th Avenue. F R Alley is listed at 2526 West 7th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Frank R Alley there as the householder, a carpenter, with Patricia J Alley, a stenographer at the Canadian Bank of Commerce.

H Aley is listed at 3719 West 7th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Harry Aley there as the householder, a shoe repairer, with George Aley.

Today

1419 Pendrell still has its building from before 1946, dated 1912 by the City's record and on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 1740 Nelson, 3662 West 4th, 2526 West 7th and 3719 West 7th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges
About 1915 Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges. Not at the house at 1740 Nelson: no archive photo of the 1700 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Str P181.2. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 12 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, street section

The book of the Alleys

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Alley name in each Vancouver directory we hold from 1901 to 1945: everyone printed under it at every address, their work from the name sections, who lived next door, and the page behind every line, to read here or save as a PDF to print or give.

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Another name, or a house

Sources

Henderson's and successor city directories for Vancouver, read by us line by line: the street sections for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1940 and 1945, and the name section for 1930 and 1940 where we've read it (Vancouver Public Library, BC City Directories). Names are shown through 1945, as printed. Close spellings are grouped, as on the house pages, since a family's name was often spelled differently from one year to the next; one name can still be several families, and we join lines only where the first names or initials agree. Many Chinese, Japanese and other residents weren't named by the canvassers, so they can't be listed by name: their houses' pages say where. More family names under A. Want a name removed? Tell us.