Vancouver / Names / D / Dunsmuir

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Dunsmuirs

In the city directories 1940 · 13 people at ten addresses

The directories print 13 people named Dunsmuir at ten addresses in 1940 in eight 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: four Dunsmuirs at 6388 Churchill 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 Dunsmuirs 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

    1060 Alberni Street

    West End, 1940

    • Clarence Dunsmuir, a driver 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Cowsill at 1058. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    6388 Churchill Street

    Kerrisdale, 1940

    • Miss A B Dunsmuir 1940
    • Anna B Dunsmuir, a school teacher 1940
    • James F Dunsmuir, a store superintendent at the Canadian (BC) Telephone 1940
    • Mary Dunsmuir, widow of J 1940

    Next door in 1940: H L Batten at 6362. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1411 East 10th Avenue

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • M Dunsmuir, a collector for Kelly Douglas 1940

    Next door in 1940: R L Fullford at 1403 and R J Philion at 1417. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    509 East 11th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • William Dunsmuir Jr, a bookbinder at Vancouver Boundary 1940

    Next door in 1940: P L Inglis at 501 and H J Strom at 517. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3793 Lanark Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • J Dunsmuir, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: E R Summers at 3775. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1584 West 12th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • J D Dunsmuir, a salesman at Mackenzie, White & Dunsmuir 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs B I Marshall at 1594. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    584 West 19th Avenue

    South Cambie, 1940

    • Martin Dunsmuir, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Muncaster at 580 and D L Campbell at 588. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    1529 West 34th Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • J Dunsmuir 1940

    Next door in 1940: T O Turner at 1519 and P. C Mehmel at 1549. The block, door by door

  9. 9

    3069 West Broadway

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • E Dunsmuir, proprietor of the Radio & Television Engineering & Dunsmuir Electric 1940

    Next door in 1940: R Payne at 3063 and Mrs M R Hall at 3071. The block, door by door

  10. 10

    1728 Yew Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • W Dunsmuir, a laborer at the CPR 1940

What they did

The name section prints a trade for nine of the 13: a bookbinder, a collector, a driver, a laborer, a motorman and a proprietor, among others. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kensington-Cedar Cottage (2), Kitsilano (2), Fairview, Kerrisdale, Mount Pleasant, Shaughnessy, South Cambie 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

The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Clarence Dunsmuir at 1060 Alberni Street, a driver. In June 1929 Anna B Dunsmuir took out the permit to build a house at 6388 Churchill Street. Miss A B Dunsmuir is listed at 6388 Churchill 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 Anna B Dunsmuir there as the householder, a school teacher, with James F Dunsmuir, a store superintendent at the Canadian (BC) Telephone, and Mary Dunsmuir, widow of J.

M Dunsmuir is listed at 1411 East 10th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Martin Dunsmuir there as the householder, a collector for Kelly Douglas. The 1940 name section lists William Dunsmuir Jr at 509 East 11th Avenue, a bookbinder at Vancouver Boundary.

In 1940 the directory lists J Dunsmuir at 3793 Lanark Street. The 1940 name section lists John Dunsmuir there as the householder, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway. In 1940 the directory lists J D Dunsmuir at 1584 West 12th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists John D Dunsmuir there as the householder, a salesman at Mackenzie, White & Dunsmuir.

The 1940 name section lists Martin Dunsmuir at 584 West 19th Avenue, retired. J Dunsmuir is listed at 1529 West 34th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. In 1940 the directory lists E Dunsmuir at 3069 West Broadway. The 1940 name section lists Earle Dunsmuir there as the householder, proprietor of the Radio & Television Engineering & Dunsmuir Electric.

In 1940 the directory lists W Dunsmuir at 1728 Yew Street. The 1940 name section lists William Dunsmuir there as the householder, a laborer at the CPR.

Today

6388 Churchill, 1411 East 10th, 509 East 11th, 584 West 19th and 1728 Yew still have their buildings from before 1946, 584 West 19th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1060 Alberni (1988), 3793 Lanark (2002), 1584 West 12th (1959) and 1529 West 34th (2012) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 3069 West Broadway, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 18 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 Dunsmuirs

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Dunsmuir 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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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.