Vancouver / Names / G / Groundwater

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Groundwaters

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at two addresses

The directories print eight people named Groundwater at two addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to the other: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: five Groundwaters at 4104 Prince Albert 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 Groundwaters 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

    2730 East 23rd Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • J A Groundwater, a gauger at Union Oil 1940
    • Alex W Groundwater, a clerk at Buscombe & Co 1940
    • Hester M Groundwater, a stenographer at Aetna Storage 1940

    Next door in 1940: G H Weston at 2748. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    4104 Prince Albert Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • A Groundwater, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway 1940
    • Charles A Groundwater, a machinist 1940
    • Irene Groundwater 1940
    • Vivian M A Groundwater, a stenographer at Fleck Bros 1940
    • William M J Groundwater, a mechanic 1940

    Next door in 1940: H A English at 4110. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the eight: a stenographer (2), a clerk, a gauger, a machinist, a mechanic and a motorman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kensington-Cedar Cottage and Renfrew-Collingwood. 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 J A Groundwater at 2730 East 23rd 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, where each person's work is printed, lists John A Groundwater there as the householder, a gauger at Union Oil, with Alex W Groundwater, a clerk at Buscombe & Co, and Hester M Groundwater, a stenographer at Aetna Storage. In 1940 the directory lists A Groundwater at 4104 Prince Albert Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Arthur Groundwater there as the householder, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway, with Charles A Groundwater, a machinist, Irene Groundwater, Vivian M A Groundwater, a stenographer at Fleck Bros, and William M J Groundwater, a mechanic.

Today

2730 East 23rd and 4104 Prince Albert still have their buildings from before 1946.

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 Groundwaters

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Groundwater 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.