Vancouver / Names / G / Grass

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Grasses

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at five addresses

The directories print eight people named Grass at five 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 Grasses at 3565 West 19th 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 Grasses 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

    2080 Haro Street

    West End, 1940

    • James T W Grass, on active service 1940

    Next door in 1940: E V Wakelin at 2036. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    24 Water Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • E Grass, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Western Cordage Canada at 20 and United Uphol at 26. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3565 West 19th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • P L Grass, a carpenter at Canadian Fishing 1940
    • Alex Le R Grass 1940
    • Marjory Grass, a saleswoman at Woodward's 1940

    Next door in 1940: J G Jackson at 3559 and W K Cain at 3569. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    595 West 20th Avenue

    South Cambie, 1940

    • Georgie Grass, widow of G F 1940

    Next door in 1940: M A Yarco at 587 and F G Hargitt at 597. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3511 West 23rd Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • F D Grass, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway 1940
    • Eileen F Grass 1940

    Next door in 1940: W J McQuarrie at 3501 and Mrs C Simpson at 3517. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the eight: a carpenter, a motorman, an on active service and a saleswoman. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Dunbar-Southlands (2), Downtown, 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 James T W Grass at 2080 Haro Street, on active service. The 1940 name section lists E Grass at 24 Water Street, retired. In 1940 the directory lists P L Grass at 3565 West 19th 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 Phair L Grass there as the householder, a carpenter at Canadian Fishing, with Alex Le R Grass, and Marjory Grass, a saleswoman at Woodward's.

The 1940 name section lists Georgie Grass at 595 West 20th Avenue, widow of G F. F D Grass is listed at 3511 West 23rd Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Frank D Grass there as the householder, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway, with Eileen F Grass.

Today

3565 West 19th and 3511 West 23rd still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 2080 Haro, 24 Water and 595 West 20th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 10 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 Grasses

Every directory, as one book

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