Vancouver / Names / C / Cowley

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Cowleys

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at eight addresses

The directories print ten people named Cowley at eight addresses in 1940 in five 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: three Cowleys at 416 East 15th 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 Cowleys lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    1069 Beach Avenue

    West End, 1940

    • Francis P V Cowley, an instrumentman at the City of Vancouver 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss L A Ross at 1067 and J G Adamson at 1075. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    633 Broughton Street

    West End, 1940

    • Marguerite Cowley, a stenographer for S A G Curry 1940

    Next door in 1940: W A Dean at 627. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    416 East 15th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • E S Cowley, a freight hand at the CPR 1940
    • Frank E Cowley 1940
    • Walter E Cowley, a cutter at the Jantzen Knit Mills 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E Chalmers at 418. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4890 Mackenzie Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Bertha Cowley, a maid for D Macfarlane 1940

    Next door in 1940: F Armstrong at 4880 and Mrs K Kidd at 4894. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3461 Price Street

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • R W J Cowley, a trackman at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: W Marrison at 3447 and J P Stanier at 3473. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1041 Robson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs Mary Cowley 1940

    Next door in 1940: Corner Hamburger White at 1037 and G W Miller at 1049. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    3737 West 31st Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • W Cowley, a master mariner 1940

    Next door in 1940: F W Fleming at 3721 and J F Cuming at 3749. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    886 West Broadway

    Fairview, 1940

    • Bertha Cowley, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: L F Marshall at 876. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the ten: a cutter, a freight hand, an instrumentman, a maid, a master mariner and a stenographer, among others.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (3), Dunbar-Southlands (2), Fairview, Mount Pleasant and Renfrew-Collingwood. 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 Francis P V Cowley at 1069 Beach Avenue, an instrumentman at the City of Vancouver. The 1940 name section lists Marguerite Cowley at 633 Broughton Street, a stenographer for S A G Curry. In 1940 the directory lists E S Cowley at 416 East 15th 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 Edward S Cowley there as the householder, a freight hand at the CPR, with Frank E Cowley, and Walter E Cowley, a cutter at the Jantzen Knit Mills.

The 1940 name section lists Bertha Cowley at 4890 Mackenzie Street, a maid for D Macfarlane. R W J Cowley is listed at 3461 Price Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Robert W J Cowley there as the householder, a trackman at the BC Electric Railway. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Mary Cowley at 1041 Robson Street.

In 1940 the directory lists W Cowley at 3737 West 31st Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists William Cowley there as the householder, a master mariner. The 1940 name section lists Bertha Cowley at 886 West Broadway, a student.

Today

3737 West 31st still has its building from before 1946, dated 1927 by the City's record; 3461 Price (1990) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1069 Beach, 633 Broughton, 416 East 15th, 4890 Mackenzie, 1041 Robson and 886 West Broadway, 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 Cowleys

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Cowley 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 C. Want a name removed? Tell us.