A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Greatrixes
In the city directories 1940 · three people at three addresses
The directories print three people named Greatrix at three addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.
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 Greatrixes lived
- 1
936 Granville Street
Downtown, 1940
- Ernest Greatrix, a longshoreman 1940
Next door in 1940: Ladies My at 932 and New Palace Cafe at 938. The block, door by door
- 2
1046 Granville Street
Downtown, 1940
- Mrs Kate Greatrix, a waitress at White Lunch 1940
Next door in 1940: Piano House Lewis at 1044 and Balderston Motors (used cars) at 1056. The block, door by door
- 3
What they did
The name section prints a trade for all three: a carpenter, a longshoreman and a waitress.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Downtown (2) and Grandview-Woodland. 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 Ernest Greatrix at 936 Granville Street, a longshoreman. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Kate Greatrix at 1046 Granville Street, a waitress at White Lunch. In 1940 the directory lists J E Greatrix at 2175 Woodland Drive; 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 James E Greatrix there as the householder, a carpenter.
Today
936 Granville and 1046 Granville still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 2175 Woodland Drive, so that building is probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 4 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Greatrix Ernest lngshmn936 Granville, p. 238
- Greatrix Mrs Kate waitress White Lunch1046 Granville, p. 238
- *Greatrix J E2175 Woodland Drive, p. 170
- Greatrix Jas E carp BCE Power & Gas2175 Woodland Drive, p. 238
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Greatrixes
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Greatrix 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.
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.