Vancouver / Names / D / Dobbins

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Dobbinses

In the city directories 1940 · six people at three addresses

The directories print six people named Dobbins at three addresses in 1940 in three 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 Dobbinses at 1345 Nelson 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 Dobbinses 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

    3031 Charles Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • Mrs H Dobbins 1940
    • Ralph C Dobbins 1940

    Next door in 1940: S T Whiteway at 3003 and I H Christopherson at 3037. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    718 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • A Dobbins, a dentist 1940

    Next door in 1940: Birks H & Sons (BC) Ltd at 710 and scott's cafe at 722. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1345 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs E Dobbins, widow of H 1940
    • Alex Dobbins, a dentist 1940
    • Elizabeth G Dobbins, a school teacher 1940

    Next door in 1940: R Thomson at 1331 and A R Mulhall at 1371. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the six: a dentist and a school teacher. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Hastings-Sunrise and West End. 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 Mrs H Dobbins at 3031 Charles Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Mrs Hilda Dobbins there as the householder, with Ralph C Dobbins. In 1940 the directory lists A Dobbins, a dentist, at 718 Granville Street.

Mrs E Dobbins is listed at 1345 Nelson 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 Elizabeth Dobbins there as the householder, widow of H, with Alex Dobbins, a dentist, and Elizabeth G Dobbins, a school teacher.

Today

3031 Charles still has its building from before 1946, dated 1923 by the City's record; 1345 Nelson (1963) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 718 Granville, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges
About 1915 Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges. Not at the house at 1345 Nelson: no archive photo of the 1300 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Str P181.2. 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 Dobbinses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Dobbins 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.