Vancouver / Names / B / Birkeland

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Birkelands

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Birkeland at four addresses in 1940 in three 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 Birkelands 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

    1033 Commercial Drive

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • O A Birkeland 1940

    Next door in 1940: H J Bennett at 1029. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1962 Parker Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • M Birkeland, of Birkeland Bros 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Strachan at 1956. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    520 Richards Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Dorothy Birkland, a waitress at Woodward's 1940

    Next door in 1940: M G Gordon at 518 and Kingsley Rooms at 522. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4436 West 11th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • Mrs E Birkeland, widow of L 1940
    • E Elizabeth Birkeland 1940

    Next door in 1940: A L McLean at 4426 and T Younger at 4446. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for one of the five: a waitress. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Grandview-Woodland (2), Downtown and West Point Grey. 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 O A Birkeland at 1033 Commercial Drive. M Birkeland is listed at 1962 Parker Street 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Michael Birkeland there as the householder, of Birkeland Bros. The 1940 name section lists Dorothy Birkland at 520 Richards Street, a waitress at Woodward's.

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs E Birkeland at 4436 West 11th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Elizabeth Birkeland there as the householder, widow of L, with E Elizabeth Birkeland.

Today

1962 Parker (1976) and 4436 West 11th (1983) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1033 Commercial Drive and 520 Richards, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 7 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 Birkelands

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Birkeland 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.