Vancouver / Names / B / Bjornson

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Bjornsons

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at five addresses

The directories print eleven people named Bjornson at five addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Bjarnason. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: five Bjornsons at 2134 West 13th 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 Bjornsons 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

    2242 Macdonald Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Erling Bjarnason, an assistant branch manager at Cunningham Drug 1940

    Next door in 1940: T H Barnes at 2238. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2134 West 13th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • P Bjarnason 1940
    • Arlan E Bjarnason 1940
    • Emil G Bjarnason, a student at UBC 1940
    • Mona L Bjarnason, a stenographer at BC Plywoods 1940
    • Valdimar Bjarnason, a student at UBC 1940

    Next door in 1940: H W Hind at 2126 and J E Hills at 2144. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3803 West King Edward Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Sylvia Bjorinson, a stenographer at Home Oil 1940

    Next door in 1940: M R McDonald at 3809. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4248 Windsor Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • B Bjornson, a carpenter 1940
    • Carl N Bjornson, a carpenter 1940
    • Vernie Bjornson 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Oliver at 4238 and S H Bjornson at 4272. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    4272 Windsor Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • S H Bjornson, a carpenter 1940

    Next door in 1940: B Bjornson at 4248 and R Intrieri at 4280. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the eleven: a carpenter (3), a stenographer (2) and an assistant branch manager. Two of them worked for UBC.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kensington-Cedar Cottage (2), Kitsilano (2) and Dunbar-Southlands. 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 Erling Bjarnason at 2242 Macdonald Street, an assistant branch manager at Cunningham Drug. P Bjarnason is listed at 2134 West 13th 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 Paul Bjarnason there as the householder, with Arlan E Bjarnason, Emil G Bjarnason, a student at UBC, Mona L Bjarnason, a stenographer at BC Plywoods, and Valdimar Bjarnason, a student at UBC. The 1940 name section lists Sylvia Bjorinson at 3803 West King Edward Avenue, a stenographer at Home Oil.

In 1940 the directory lists B Bjornson at 4248 Windsor Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Barney Bjornson there as the householder, a carpenter, with Carl N Bjornson, a carpenter, and Vernie Bjornson. In 1940 the directory lists S H Bjornson at 4272 Windsor Street. The 1940 name section lists S Harold Bjornson there as the householder, a carpenter.

Today

2242 Macdonald and 3803 West King Edward still have their buildings from before 1946; 4248 Windsor (2021) and 4272 Windsor (1981) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2134 West 13th, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 14 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 Bjornsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Bjornson 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.