Vancouver / Names / C / Cowper

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Cowpers

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at eight addresses

The directories print nine people named Cowper at eight addresses in 1940 in seven 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 Cowpers lived

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

    1721 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • C John Cowper 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E Neil at 1717 and R Tait at 1727. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    175 East Broadway

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Mrs E D Cowper, widow of E S 1940
    • Elizabeth D Cowper, an operator at the BC Telephone 1940

    Next door in 1940: Hux Lunch at 169. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3644 Franklin Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • T Cowper, a carpenter at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: A E Pritchard at 3636 and W McDonald at 3650. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2762 Granville Street

    Fairview, 1940

    • Miss D N Cowper, a milliner 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lewis A V Ltd at 2756 and Donaldson's at 2764. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    7964 Hudson Street

    Marpole, 1940

    • Dorothy N Cowper, a milliner 1940

    Next door in 1940: B S Brooks at 7936 and Mrs L H Gibson at 7978. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1023 Pacific Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs E Cowper 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs P Burnett at 1019 and A Pastuck at 1027. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    2054 Quilchena Crescent

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • D Cowper 1940

    Next door in 1940: S E Parker at 2046 and N W Lightfoot at 2062. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    5638 Wallace Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • H S Cowper, a clerk at the City of Vancouver 1940

    Next door in 1940: A A McKenzie at 5612 and E Stanhope at 5662. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the nine: a carpenter, a clerk, a milliner and an operator. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (2), Arbutus Ridge, Dunbar-Southlands, Fairview, Hastings-Sunrise, Marpole and Mount Pleasant. 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 C John Cowper at 1721 Comox Street. Mrs E D Cowper is listed at 175 East Broadway in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Ellen D Cowper there as the householder, widow of E S, with Elizabeth D Cowper, an operator at the BC Telephone.

T Cowper is listed at 3644 Franklin Street in 1940; 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 Thomas Cowper there as the householder, a carpenter at the BC Electric Railway. Miss D N Cowper, a milliner, is listed at 2762 Granville Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Dorothy N Cowper at 7964 Hudson Street, a milliner.

Mrs E Cowper is listed at 1023 Pacific Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Eleanor W Cowper there as the householder. D Cowper is listed at 2054 Quilchena Crescent in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too.

In 1940 the directory lists H S Cowper at 5638 Wallace Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Hector S Cowper there as the householder, a clerk at the City of Vancouver.

Today

175 East Broadway, 3644 Franklin, 2762 Granville, 2054 Quilchena Crescent and 5638 Wallace still have their buildings from before 1946; 1721 Comox (1956) and 1023 Pacific (1985) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 7964 Hudson, so that building is 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 Cowpers

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Cowper 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.