Vancouver / Names / B / Bell / West 3rd Avenue

A family name on West 3rd Avenue, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Fairview and West Point Grey

The Bells

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at two addresses

The directories print eight people named Bell at two addresses in 1940, all on West 3rd Avenue. No first name or initials tie one address to the other: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: five Bells at 2638 West 3rd in 1940. The directories print the name on 137 other streets too, all listed on the Bell name's own page.

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 Bells 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

    2638 West 3rd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Mrs C M Bell, widow of G A S 1940
    • David G Bell 1940
    • Edward N Bell, a salesman at Ray's Ltd 1940
    • Juliet M Bell 1940
    • Stuart Bell 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M Haslam at 2636 and A J Skinner at 2646. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3130 West 3rd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • E D Bell, a sheet metalworker at the CPR 1940
    • Elizabeth M Bell, widow of J D 1940
    • Mae A Bell, a saleswoman at Famous 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs F Phillips at 3124 and G H Tyler at 3140. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the eight: a salesman, a saleswoman and a sheet metalworker. Two are widows, listed under their own names.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano (2). 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 Mrs C M Bell at 2638 West 3rd Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Constance M Bell there as the householder, widow of G A S, with David G Bell, Edward N Bell, a salesman at Ray's Ltd, Juliet M Bell, and Stuart Bell. In 1940 the directory lists E D Bell at 3130 West 3rd Avenue; 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 Ernest D Bell there as the householder, a sheet metalworker at the CPR, with Elizabeth M Bell, widow of J D, and Mae A Bell, a saleswoman at Famous.

Today

2638 West 3rd and 3130 West 3rd still have their buildings from before 1946, 3130 West 3rd on the Vancouver Heritage Register.

Every line as printed

All 10 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 Bells

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Bell 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.

We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.

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 B. Want a name removed? Tell us.