Vancouver / Names / G / Greatrex

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Greatrexes

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at five addresses

The directories print seven people named Greatrex at five addresses in 1940 in four of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Greatorex. 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 Greatrexes at 4427 James 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 Greatrexes 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

    20 East 24th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • D J A Greatrex 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss A Hawthorn at 50. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    4427 James Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • A Greatrex, a laborer at Vancouver & District Joint Sewerage 1940
    • Margaret Greatrex 1940
    • Robert H Greatrex, a sub station manager at the Sun 1940

    Next door in 1940: E D McKeith at 4439. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1038 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • William S Greatrex, proprietor of Columbia Taxi 1940

    Next door in 1940: Main Sheet Metal Works at 1024. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    811 West 16th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • A E Greatorex, a janitor at Canadian Bakeries 1940

    Next door in 1940: N V James at 805 and F T Greaves at 823. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3528 West 19th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • S H Greatrex, an assistant chief clerk for H J Heinz 1940

    Next door in 1940: F Q Lindsay at 3524 and H W Watkins at 3534. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the seven: an assistant chief clerk, a janitor, a laborer, a proprietor and a sub station manager.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (2), Dunbar-Southlands, Fairview and Strathcona. 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 J A Greatrex at 20 East 24th Avenue. A Greatrex is listed at 4427 James Street in 1940. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Alfred Greatrex there as the householder, a laborer at Vancouver & District Joint Sewerage, with Margaret Greatrex, and Robert H Greatrex, a sub station manager at the Sun. The 1940 name section lists William S Greatrex at 1038 Main Street, proprietor of Columbia Taxi.

In 1940 the directory lists A E Greatorex at 811 West 16th 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 Albert E Greatorex there as the householder, a janitor at Canadian Bakeries. In 1940 the directory lists S H Greatrex at 3528 West 19th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Stewart H Greatrex there as the householder, an assistant chief clerk for H J Heinz.

Today

20 East 24th and 1038 Main still have their buildings from before 1946, 1038 Main on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 4427 James (2019) and 3528 West 19th (2011) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 811 West 16th, so that building is 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, street section

The book of the Greatrexes

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Greatrex 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.