Vancouver / Names / F / Foss

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Fosses

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at five addresses

The directories print eleven people named Foss at five addresses in 1940 in five 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 Fosses at 2047 Parker 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 Fosses 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

    5897 Commercial Street

    Victoria-Fraserview, 1940

    • W J Foss, retired 1940
    • Pierre W Foss, a millworker at BC Plywoods 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Tofts at 5889. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    285 East 50th Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • Mrs S O Foss, widow of H J 1940
    • Freda Foss, a waitress at Golden Sunset Cafe 1940
    • Olive H Foss, a stenographer for A B Balderston 1940
  3. 3

    2047 Parker Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Mrs B H Foss, a widow 1940
    • I Harriet Foss, a stenographer 1940
    • Lauritz O Foss, a first aid man 1940
    • Orpha L Foss, a stenographer at Nootka Packing 1940

    Next door in 1940: A G Courquin at 2043 and W R Wilcox at 2057. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    43 Powell Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • V Foss 1940
  5. 5

    835 West 10th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Olympia Foss, a nurse at the Vancouver General Hospital 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Jackson at 821 and Mrs G S Carey at 845. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the eleven: a stenographer (3), a first aid man, a millworker, a nurse and a waitress. Two are widows, listed under their own names.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Fairview, Grandview-Woodland, Sunset and Victoria-Fraserview. 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 W J Foss at 5897 Commercial Street; 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, where each person's work is printed, lists William J Foss there as the householder, retired, with Pierre W Foss, a millworker at BC Plywoods. In 1940 the directory lists Mrs S O Foss at 285 East 50th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Susie O Foss there as the householder, widow of H J, with Freda Foss, a waitress at Golden Sunset Cafe, and Olive H Foss, a stenographer for A B Balderston.

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs B H Foss at 2047 Parker Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Belle H Foss there as the householder, a widow, with I Harriet Foss, a stenographer, Lauritz O Foss, a first aid man, and Orpha L Foss, a stenographer at Nootka Packing. The 1940 name section lists V Foss at 43 Powell Street. The 1940 name section lists Olympia Foss at 835 West 10th Avenue, a nurse at the Vancouver General Hospital.

Today

5897 Commercial, 2047 Parker and 43 Powell still have their buildings from before 1946; 285 East 50th (1971) and 835 West 10th (1982) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

Mr. Brookhouse's house at 1872 Parker Street, with its corner turret
1932 Mr. Brookhouse's house at 1872 Parker Street, with its corner turret. Not at the house at 2047 Parker: no archive photo of the 2000 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-4161. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 14 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 Fosses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Foss 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 F. Want a name removed? Tell us.