A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Bigelows
In the city directories 1940 · four people at three addresses
The directories print four people named Bigelow at three addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Biglow. 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 Bigelows lived
- 1
518 Richards Street
Downtown, 1940
- George Bigelow, a clerk at the Merritt Gordon Hotel 1940
Next door in 1940: Merritt Gordon Hotel at 514 and Merritt Gordon Hotel (Annex) at 520. The block, door by door
- 2
891 West 26th Avenue
South Cambie, 1940
- Mrs N Biglow, widow of W 1940
- Phyllis Biglow, a stenographer at Harper & Anderson 1940
Next door in 1940: G M Zeigler at 889 and R Urquhart at 893. The block, door by door
- 3
3533 West 26th Avenue
Dunbar-Southlands, 1940
- Mrs H F Bigelow 1940
Next door in 1940: J J Horan at 3525 and E Spencer at 3539. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for two of the four: a clerk and a stenographer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Downtown, Dunbar-Southlands and South Cambie. 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 George Bigelow at 518 Richards Street, a clerk at the Merritt Gordon Hotel. Mrs N Biglow is listed at 891 West 26th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Nettie Biglow there as the householder, widow of W, with Phyllis Biglow, a stenographer at Harper & Anderson.
Mrs H F Bigelow is listed at 3533 West 26th 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 Mrs Harriet F Bigelow there as the householder.
Today
518 Richards, 891 West 26th and 3533 West 26th still have their buildings from before 1946, 518 Richards on the Vancouver Heritage Register.
Every line as printed
All 6 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Bigelow Geo clk Merritt Gordon Hotel518 Richards, p. 47
- Biglow Mrs N891 West 26th, p. 240
- Biglow Nettie wid W891 West 26th, p. 47
- Biglow Phyllis sten Harper & Anderson891 West 26th, p. 47
- *Bigelow Mrs H F3533 West 26th, p. 241
- Bigelow Mrs Harriet F3533 West 26th, p. 47
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Bigelows
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Bigelow 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.