Vancouver / Names / D / Dowman

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Dowmans

In the city directories 1940 · four people at three addresses

The directories print four people named Dowman 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.

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 Dowmans 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

    1027 Howe Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • T J Dowman, a pressman for G A Roedde 1940

    Next door in 1940: U Drive Ace at 1005 and C M Kirkland at 1033. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    4523 West 1st Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • W A Dowman, an insurance broker 1940

    Next door in 1940: M P Beltz at 4535. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1820 West 7th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • J P Dowman, a clerk at Canadian Fairbanks-Morse 1940
    • Frank Dowman 1940

    Next door in 1940: S C Dennis at 1814. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the four: a clerk, an insurance broker and a pressman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Kitsilano and West Point Grey. 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 T J Dowman at 1027 Howe Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Thomas J Dowman there as the householder, a pressman for G A Roedde. In 1940 the directory lists W A Dowman at 4523 West 1st 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 William A Dowman there as the householder, an insurance broker.

In 1940 the directory lists J P Dowman at 1820 West 7th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists John P Dowman there as the householder, a clerk at Canadian Fairbanks-Morse, with Frank Dowman.

Today

4523 West 1st still has its building from before 1946, dated 1922 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1027 Howe and 1820 West 7th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 7 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 Dowmans

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Dowman 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.