Vancouver / Names / C / Coombe

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Coombes

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at six addresses

The directories print ten people named Coombe at six addresses in 1940 in four 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: four Coombes at 1754 West 11th 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 Coombes 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

    296 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • John Coombe, a checker 1940

    Next door in 1940: “Orientals” at 290. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    520 Richards Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Don Coombe 1940

    Next door in 1940: M G Gordon at 518 and Kingsley Rooms at 522. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2615 Wall Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • W J Coombe, a steelworker 1940

    Next door in 1940: D A Lowery at 2603 and F Wade at 2631. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1316 West 11th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • A E Coombe, retired 1940
    • Mrs Bertha J Coombe, proprietor of The Banfield 1940

    Next door in 1940: rose court at 1336. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1754 West 11th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • G B Coombe, retired 1940
    • Dorothy L Coombe, a social worker for Family Welfare 1940
    • George F Coombe, a clerk at the Bank of Montreal 1940
    • Victor G Coombe, a clerk 1940

    Next door in 1940: A T Symes at 1746 and J C Dufresne at 1766. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1201 West Georgia Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Martha J Coombe, widow of R H 1940

    Next door in 1940: Auto Reconditioning at 1219. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the ten: a clerk (2), a checker, a proprietor, a social worker and a steelworker. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (2), Fairview (2), Hastings-Sunrise and Strathcona. 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 John Coombe at 296 Keefer Street, a checker. The 1940 name section lists Don Coombe at 520 Richards Street. In 1940 the directory lists W J Coombe at 2615 Wall Street. The 1940 name section lists William J Coombe there as the householder, a steelworker.

In 1940 the directory lists A E Coombe at 1316 West 11th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Albert E Coombe there as the householder, retired, with Mrs Bertha J Coombe, proprietor of The Banfield. In 1940 the directory lists G B Coombe at 1754 West 11th 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 George B Coombe there as the householder, retired, with Dorothy L Coombe, a social worker for Family Welfare, George F Coombe, a clerk at the Bank of Montreal, and Victor G Coombe, a clerk.

The 1940 name section lists Martha J Coombe at 1201 West Georgia Street, widow of R H.

Today

2615 Wall, 1754 West 11th and 1201 West Georgia still have their buildings from before 1946, 1201 West Georgia on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1316 West 11th (2001) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 296 Keefer and 520 Richards, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 13 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 Coombes

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Coombe 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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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.