Vancouver / Names / D / Dickson / Dunbar Street

A family name on Dunbar Street, Dunbar-Southlands and Kitsilano

The Dicksons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at three addresses

The directories print five people named Dickson at three addresses in 1940, all on Dunbar Street, with the close spelling Dickieson. 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 Dicksons at 4231 Dunbar in 1940. The directories print the name on 48 other streets too, all listed on the Dickson 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 Dicksons 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

    2022 Dunbar Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • F G Dickson, a steward at the Union Steamship Company 1940

    Next door in 1940: W J McGee at 2020 and N J Moncrieff at 2024. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    4231 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • J Dickson, proprietor of Dunbar Cleaners & Dyers 1940
    • Bruce A Dickson, a student at UBC 1940
    • Margaret Dickson 1940

    Next door in 1940: Safeway Stores at 4229 and G Freeman at 4233. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4331 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • J R Dickson, proprietor of The Nest 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Heskin at 4321 and Nest eggs & at 4335. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a proprietor (2) and a steward.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Dunbar-Southlands (2) and Kitsilano. 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 F G Dickson at 2022 Dunbar Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Francis G Dickson there as the householder, a steward at the Union Steamship Company. In 1940 the directory lists J Dickson at 4231 Dunbar Street. The 1940 name section lists James Dickson there as the householder, proprietor of Dunbar Cleaners & Dyers, with Bruce A Dickson, a student at UBC, and Margaret Dickson.

In 1940 the directory lists J R Dickson at 4331 Dunbar Street. The 1940 name section lists Joseph R Dickson there as the householder, proprietor of The Nest.

Today

4331 Dunbar still has its building from before 1946, dated 1925 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2022 Dunbar and 4231 Dunbar, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

A No. 14 Dunbar streetcar on Dunbar Street, past bungalows
1940 A No. 14 Dunbar streetcar on Dunbar Street, past bungalows. Not at the house at 4231 Dunbar: no archive photo of the 4200 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, 2009-005.530. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 8 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, street section

The book of the Dicksons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Dickson 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 D. Want a name removed? Tell us.