Vancouver / Names / B / Balfour

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Balfours

In the city directories 1940 · 14 people at twelve addresses

The directories print 14 people named Balfour at twelve addresses in 1940 in nine of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

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Where the Balfours 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

    1734 Dunbar Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Elizabeth M Balfour, a student at UBC 1940

    Next door in 1940: J D Meekison at 1724 and C A Marshall at 1742. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    136 East 35th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • J Balfour, a driver 1940

    Next door in 1940: M J Vander at 126 and H Christian at 146. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1790 East 6th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • E J Balfour, an engineer 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Williams at 1788 and H Jorgensen at 1794. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1244 East 8th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Robert Balfour, a porter 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs A Wilton at 1236 and J W Isherwood at 1248. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1675 Laurier Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • William D Balfour, a deputy sheriff at the BC Government 1940

    Next door in 1940: R C Buchanan at 1649 and W M Booth at 1699. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1716 Pendrell Street

    West End, 1940

    • Beatrice Balfour, a clerk at Leith & Dyke 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss K McGregor at 1724. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    1765 West 10th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Walter F Balfour, on active service 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M Kelton at 1755 and G A Williams at 1775. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    4214 West 11th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • J Balfour, a laborer 1940
    • Isabel A Balfour, a stenographer at Canada Life 1940

    Next door in 1940: T N Peter at 4208 and C N Boyd at 4218. The block, door by door

  9. 9

    4359 West 11th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • Mrs H L Balfour, widow of G H 1940

    Next door in 1940: J G H M Cleland at 4347 and E J Cosens at 4363. The block, door by door

  10. 10

    4656 West 3rd Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • Barbara H Balfour 1940

    Next door in 1940: Dr D C MacKenzie at 4646 and W J Moore at 4666. The block, door by door

  11. 11

    3885 West Broadway

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • C B Balfour, an assistant at Valley Lumber 1940
    • Barbara I Balfour, a stenographer 1940

    Next door in 1940: L A Keele at 3877. The block, door by door

  12. 12

    435 West Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • John Balfour 1940

What they did

The name section prints a trade for ten of the 14: a stenographer (2), an assistant, a clerk, a deputy sheriff, a driver and an engineer, among others. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West Point Grey (4), Downtown, Fairview, Grandview-Woodland, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Riley Park, Shaughnessy and West End. 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

The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Elizabeth M Balfour at 1734 Dunbar Street, a student at UBC. J Balfour is listed at 136 East 35th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists John Balfour there as the householder, a driver.

E J Balfour is listed at 1790 East 6th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked *: some member of the family owns the property, to the best of our knowledge (the directory's own mark). The 1940 name section lists Edmund J Balfour there as the householder, an engineer. The 1940 name section lists Robert Balfour at 1244 East 8th Avenue, a porter. The 1940 name section lists William D Balfour at 1675 Laurier Avenue, a deputy sheriff at the BC Government.

The 1940 name section lists Beatrice Balfour at 1716 Pendrell Street, a clerk at Leith & Dyke. The 1940 name section lists Walter F Balfour at 1765 West 10th Avenue, on active service. J Balfour is listed at 4214 West 11th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists John Balfour there as the householder, a laborer, with Isabel A Balfour, a stenographer at Canada Life.

Mrs H L Balfour is listed at 4359 West 11th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Helen L Balfour there as the householder, widow of G H. The 1940 name section lists Barbara H Balfour at 4656 West 3rd Avenue.

In 1940 the directory lists C B Balfour, a building contractor, at 3885 West Broadway; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Charles B Balfour there, a building contractor, with Charles B Balfour Jr, an assistant at Valley Lumber, and Barbara I Balfour, a stenographer. The 1940 name section lists John Balfour at 435 West Pender Street.

Today

1734 Dunbar, 1244 East 8th, 1675 Laurier, 4359 West 11th and 435 West Pender still have their buildings from before 1946, 1734 Dunbar, 1675 Laurier and 435 West Pender on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1790 East 6th (2000), 4656 West 3rd (1991) and 3885 West Broadway (2016) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 136 East 35th, 1716 Pendrell, 1765 West 10th and 4214 West 11th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 20 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Balfours

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Balfour 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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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 B. Want a name removed? Tell us.