Vancouver / Names / B / Bessuille

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Bessuilles

In the city directories 1940 · five people at three addresses

The directories print five people named Bessuille at three addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: three Bessuilles at 1412 West 6th in 1940.

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 Bessuilles lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    2282 East 33rd Avenue

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • A A Bessuille, a spotter at French Hand Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E Calder at 2276 and W Schlechtingen at 2296. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2204 Granville Street

    Fairview, 1940

    • M Bessuille, a foreman at French Hand Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: W H Whiles at 2202 and College Clnrs at 2208. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1412 West 6th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • A A Bessuille, proprietor of French Hand Laundry 1940
    • Emma Bessuille, a bookkeeper at French Hand Laundry 1940
    • Germaine Bessuille, a marker at French Hand Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: R Hallgren at 1414. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for all five: a bookkeeper, a foreman, a marker, a proprietor and a spotter. Five of them worked for French Hand Laundry.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2) and Kensington-Cedar Cottage. 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 A A Bessuille at 2282 East 33rd 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Alex A Bessuille there as the householder, a spotter at French Hand Laundry. In 1940 the directory lists M Bessuille at 2204 Granville Street. The 1940 name section lists Marcel Bessuille there as the householder, a foreman at French Hand Laundry.

In 1940 the directory lists A A Bessuille at 1412 West 6th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Andre A Bessuille there as the householder, proprietor of French Hand Laundry, with Emma Bessuille, a bookkeeper at French Hand Laundry, and Germaine Bessuille, a marker at French Hand Laundry.

Today

2282 East 33rd still has its building from before 1946, dated 1920 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2204 Granville and 1412 West 6th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 8 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 Bessuilles

Every directory, as one book

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