Vancouver / Names / B / Blaker

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Blakers

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at three addresses

The directories print seven people named Blaker at three 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. The most under one roof: three Blakers at 1468 East 15th 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 Blakers 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

    1468 East 15th Avenue

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • M L Blaker, a longshoreman 1940
    • D Blaker, a wrapper at Polly Ann Bakeries 1940
    • Richard Blaker, a baker at Canadian Bakeries 1940

    Next door in 1940: R C Birkinshaw at 1462 and H W Cairns at 1474. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2124 East 6th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • H H Blaker, proprietor of Grosvenor Barber Shop 1940
    • Alfred W H Blaker, a barber at Grosvenor Barber Shop 1940
    • Ethel H Blaker, an operator at the BC Telephone 1940

    Next door in 1940: S E Rose at 2110 and A E Berner at 2134. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1193 West Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Don B Blaker, a warehouseman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Meredith Motors (gar) at 1157. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for all seven: a baker, a barber, a longshoreman, an operator, a proprietor and a warehouseman, among others. Two of them worked for Grosvenor Barber Shop.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Grandview-Woodland 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 M L Blaker at 1468 East 15th Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Mark L Blaker there as the householder, a longshoreman, with D Blaker, a wrapper at Polly Ann Bakeries, and Richard Blaker, a baker at Canadian Bakeries. In 1940 the directory lists H H Blaker at 2124 East 6th 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 lists Horace H Blaker there as the householder, proprietor of Grosvenor Barber Shop, with Alfred W H Blaker, a barber at Grosvenor Barber Shop, and Ethel H Blaker, an operator at the BC Telephone.

The 1940 name section lists Don B Blaker at 1193 West Pender Street as the householder, a warehouseman.

Today

2124 East 6th still has its building from before 1946, dated 1914 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1468 East 15th and 1193 West Pender, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 9 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 Blakers

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Blaker 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.