Vancouver / Names / B / Biles

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Bileses

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at seven addresses

The directories print seven people named Biles at seven addresses in 1940 in six of the city's neighbourhoods. 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 Bileses 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

    1243 Alberni Street

    West End, 1940

    • Barney Biles 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss P Naster at 1255. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2439 East 21st Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • H C J Biles 1940

    Next door in 1940: H W Shayler at 2441. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1356 Franklin Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Mrs Nancy Biles 1940

    Next door in 1940: M Lovrich at 1354 and V Ivancic at 1360. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    7708 Ontario Street

    Sunset, 1940

    • W L Biles, a manager at the Blain Boiler Works 1940
  5. 5

    5818 Ormidale Street

    Killarney, 1940

    • H C Biles, a seaman 1940

    Next door in 1940: W E Baldwin at 5834. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1154 Robson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Jane H Bailes, widow of H 1940

    Next door in 1940: W G Proctor at 1150. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    3559 West 18th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • C L Biles, a weighmaster 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs L H Ashworth at 3555 and Mrs S Smith at 3565. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the seven: a manager, a seaman and a weighmaster. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (2), Dunbar-Southlands, Grandview-Woodland, Killarney, Renfrew-Collingwood and Sunset. 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 Barney Biles at 1243 Alberni Street. H C J Biles is listed at 2439 East 21st 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 Harry C J Biles there as the householder. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Nancy Biles at 1356 Franklin Street.

In 1940 the directory lists W L Biles at 7708 Ontario Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Wilfred L Biles there as the householder, a manager at the Blain Boiler Works. In 1940 the directory lists H C Biles at 5818 Ormidale Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Harold C Biles there as the householder, a seaman.

The 1940 name section lists Jane H Bailes at 1154 Robson Street, widow of H. C L Biles is listed at 3559 West 18th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Charles L Biles there as the householder, a weighmaster.

Today

2439 East 21st and 7708 Ontario still have their buildings from before 1946; 5818 Ormidale (1996), 1154 Robson (1974) and 3559 West 18th (2010) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1243 Alberni and 1356 Franklin, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 11 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 Bileses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Biles 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.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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.