Vancouver / Names / B / Bowell

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Bowells

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at seven addresses

The directories print nine people named Bowell 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 Bowells 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

    4150 Angus Drive

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • M Bowell, a salesman 1940
    • Harriet L Bowell 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs L C Tornroos at 4126 and F A Dietrich at 4198. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    451 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • G Bowell, a florist 1940

    Next door in 1940: Library Annex Van Pub at 431. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1040 Melville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • McDonald Bowell, a truck department) 1940

    Next door in 1940: W E Green at 1024 and P Pagot at 1042. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1011 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs M M Bowell, who kept rooms to let 1940
    • Doug W Bowell, a millworker at BC Plywoods 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Wilson at 1009 and H Usher at 1013. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    634 Semlin Drive

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • S R Bowell, a poultry products inspector at the Canadian Government 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Ikada at 620 and E C Broadfoot at 646. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    726 Smithe Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • McDonald U Drive Bowell 1940

    Next door in 1940: A C Giles at 722. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    2075 West 53rd Avenue

    Kerrisdale, 1940

    • I W Bowell, a clerk at Bowell McDonald 1940

    Next door in 1940: P McD Kerr at 2049. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the nine: a clerk, a millworker, a poultry products inspector and a salesman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (2), Grandview-Woodland, Kerrisdale, Shaughnessy, Strathcona and West End. 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 Bowell at 4150 Angus Drive. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Mackenzie Bowell there as the householder, a president at Bowell McDonald Motor Co Ltd, with Mackenzie Bowell Jr, a salesman, and Harriet L Bowell. In 1940 the directory lists G Bowell, a florist, at 451 Main Street. McDonald Bowell, a truck department), is listed at 1040 Melville Street in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs M M Bowell, rooms to let, at 1011 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Myrtle M Bowell there, who kept rooms to let, with Doug W Bowell, a millworker at BC Plywoods. In 1940 the directory lists S R Bowell at 634 Semlin Drive; 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 Steph R Bowell there as the householder, a poultry products inspector at the Canadian Government.

In 1940 the directory lists McDonald U Drive Bowell at 726 Smithe Street. I W Bowell is listed at 2075 West 53rd Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Ian W Bowell there as the householder, a clerk at Bowell McDonald.

Today

634 Semlin Drive and 2075 West 53rd still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 4150 Angus Drive, 451 Main, 1040 Melville, 1011 Nelson and 726 Smithe, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

A man on a white horse at the first camp for clearing Shaughnessy, near Angus Drive
1912 A man on a white horse at the first camp for clearing Shaughnessy, near Angus Drive. Not at the house at 4150 Angus Drive: no archive photo of the 4100 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Dist P24.1. Public domain.

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, street section

The book of the Bowells

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Bowell 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.