A family name on Thurlow Street, West End and Downtown
The Browns
In the city directories 1940 · four people at four addresses
The directories print four people named Brown at four addresses in 1940, all on Thurlow Street, with the close spelling Browne. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 254 other streets too, all listed on the Brown name's own page.
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 Browns lived
- 1
779 Thurlow Street
West End, 1940
- Gwynne O Brown, a storekeeper at Canadian Pacific Steamships 1940
Next door in 1940: R Hoffmeister at 761. The block, door by door
- 2
934 Thurlow Street
West End, 1940
- Thomas Brown 1940
Next door in 1940: G F Monk at 908 and Mrs M Jenner at 938. The block, door by door
- 3
955 Thurlow Street
West End, 1940
- W Brown, a secretary at the Motor Carriers Association of BC 1940
Next door in 1940: Mrs I Esch at 921 and H Aird at 989. The block, door by door
- 4
1243 Thurlow Street
West End, 1940
- Agnes Brown, a maid for T B Lewis 1940
Next door in 1940: Dr J R Davidson at 1221. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for three of the four: a maid, a secretary and a storekeeper.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in West End (4). 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 Gwynne O Brown at 779 Thurlow Street, a storekeeper at Canadian Pacific Steamships. The 1940 name section lists Thomas Brown at 934 Thurlow Street. In 1940 the directory lists W Brown at 955 Thurlow Street. The 1940 name section lists William Brown there as the householder, a secretary at the Motor Carriers Association of BC.
The 1940 name section lists Agnes Brown at 1243 Thurlow Street, a maid for T B Lewis.
Today
955 Thurlow and 1243 Thurlow still have their buildings from before 1946, 1243 Thurlow on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 779 Thurlow and 934 Thurlow, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 5 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Brown Gwynne O storekpr CPSS779 Thurlow, p. 73
- Brown Thos934 Thurlow, p. 74
- Brown W955 Thurlow, p. 156
- Brown Wm sec Motor Carriers Assn of BC955 Thurlow, p. 75
- Brown Agnes maid T B Lewis1243 Thurlow, p. 71
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Browns
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Brown 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.
We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.
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.