Vancouver / Names / G / Gower

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Gowers

In the city directories 1940 · six people at four addresses

The directories print six people named Gower at four addresses in 1940 in four 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 Gowers at 5032 Fraser 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 Gowers 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

    5032 Fraser Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • W C Gower, a longshoreman 1940
    • Edward Gower, an apprentice at the Jantzen Knit Mills 1940
    • Frederick E Gower, a sheet metal worker at Hudson Heating & Sheet Metal 1940

    Next door in 1940: T J S Aylwin at 5022 and Mrs M M White at 5050. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2366 Grant Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Alfred H Gower 1940

    Next door in 1940: H W Perry at 2356. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    515 West Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Frederick Gower, a construction foreman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Harling & Spragg at 513 and Harvey & Riach at 519. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1948 Whyte Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Helen Gower, a nurse 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs A Lewis at 1924 and Mrs E Lusk at 1972. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the six: an apprentice, a construction foreman, a longshoreman, a nurse and a sheet metal worker.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Grandview-Woodland, Kensington-Cedar Cottage and Kitsilano. 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 C Gower at 5032 Fraser Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Walter C Gower there as the householder, a longshoreman, with Edward Gower, an apprentice at the Jantzen Knit Mills, and Frederick E Gower, a sheet metal worker at Hudson Heating & Sheet Metal. The 1940 name section lists Alfred H Gower at 2366 Grant Street. The 1940 name section lists Frederick Gower at 515 West Pender Street, a construction foreman.

The 1940 name section lists Helen Gower at 1948 Whyte Avenue, a nurse.

Today

5032 Fraser, 2366 Grant and 1948 Whyte still have their buildings from before 1946, 2366 Grant on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 515 West Pender (1996) has a newer building, by the City's record.

The Hilton Dairy staff lined up outside the dairy at 6395 Fraser Street
17 March 1936 The Hilton Dairy staff lined up outside the dairy at 6395 Fraser Street. Not at the house at 5032 Fraser: no archive photo of the 5000 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-4867. Public domain.

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 Gowers

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Gower 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 G. Want a name removed? Tell us.