Vancouver / Names / F / Forbes / West 5th Avenue

A family name on West 5th Avenue, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Fairview and West Point Grey

The Forbeses

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at two addresses

The directories print seven people named Forbes at two addresses in 1940, all on West 5th Avenue. No first name or initials tie one address to the other: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: six Forbeses at 1574 West 5th in 1940. The directories print the name on 42 other streets too, all listed on the Forbes 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 Forbeses 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

    1541 West 5th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • D S Forbes, a laborer at the Alberta Wheat Pool 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs A Tenning at 1539 and C L Reeve at 1547. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1574 West 5th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • O G K Forbes, an engineer 1940
    • Ernest Forbes, a logger 1940
    • Ethel I Forbes, a factory worker 1940
    • Howard Forbes, a logger 1940
    • Ken R Forbes, a deck hand 1940
    • Morrison Forbes, a logger 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Almond at 1562 and L F Harbottle at 1578. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for all seven: a logger (3), a deck hand, an engineer, a factory worker and a laborer.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2). 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 D S Forbes at 1541 West 5th Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Don S Forbes there as the householder, a laborer at the Alberta Wheat Pool. In 1940 the directory lists O G K Forbes at 1574 West 5th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Osborne G K Forbes there as the householder, an engineer, with Ernest Forbes, a logger, Ethel I Forbes, a factory worker, Howard Forbes, a logger, Ken R Forbes, a deck hand, and Morrison Forbes, a logger.

Today

The City no longer lists 1541 West 5th and 1574 West 5th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 9 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 Forbeses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Forbes 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.

We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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 F. Want a name removed? Tell us.