Vancouver / Names / B / Bolam

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Bolams

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Bolam 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 Bolams 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

    1816 Haro Street

    West End, 1940

    • Wilfred Bolam 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M Clark at 1834. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1812 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • R Bolam, rooms to let 1940
    • Lloyd Bolam, a driver at Golden Sheaf Bake Shop 1940

    Next door in 1940: G K Lamb at 1808 and W D Smith at 1822. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1572 West 13th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • R C O Bolam 1940

    Next door in 1940: Maritime Garage at 1560 and crofton (the) at 1584. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2812 Yukon Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • M Gwen Bolam, a stenographer at Durham & Bates 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss A A Campbell at 2840. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the five: a driver and a stenographer.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (2), Fairview and Mount Pleasant. 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 Wilfred Bolam at 1816 Haro Street. R Bolam, rooms to let, is listed at 1812 Nelson Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Lloyd Bolam there, a driver at Golden Sheaf Bake Shop.

R C O Bolam is listed at 1572 West 13th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Robert C O Bolam there as the householder. The 1940 name section lists M Gwen Bolam at 2812 Yukon Street, a stenographer at Durham & Bates.

Today

2812 Yukon still has its building from before 1946, dated 1909 by the City's record and on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1816 Haro (1974) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1812 Nelson and 1572 West 13th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges
About 1915 Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges. Not at the house at 1812 Nelson: no archive photo of the 1800 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Str P181.2. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 6 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 Bolams

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Bolam 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.