A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Cobains
In the city directories 1940 · two people at one address
The directories print two people named Cobain at one address, 1648 Venables Street in Grandview-Woodland, 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.
The Cobains at home
Woodland
- 1
1648 Venables Street
Grandview-Woodland, 1940
- J Cobain, a student at UBC 1940
- Norah Cobain, a stenographer at Marsh & McLennan 1940
Next door in 1940: J A Smith at 1640 and F J Russell at 1652. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for one of the two: a stenographer.
Their neighbourhoods
The address is in Grandview-Woodland. 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 J Cobain at 1648 Venables Street; 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, where each person's work is printed, lists James Cobain there as the householder, a helper at Ross & Howard, with James Cobain Jr, a student at UBC, and Norah Cobain, a stenographer at Marsh & McLennan.
Today
1648 Venables still has its building from before 1946, dated 1908 by the City's record.
Every line as printed
All 4 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- *Cobain J1648 Venables, p. 160
- Cobain Jas hlpr Ross & Howard1648 Venables, p. 117
- Cobain Jas Jr studt UBC1648 Venables, p. 117
- Cobain Norah sten Marsh & McLennan1648 Venables, p. 117
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, street section
The book of the Cobains
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Cobain 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 C. Want a name removed? Tell us.