Vancouver / Names / J / Johnson / Nelson Street

A family name on Nelson Street, West End and Downtown

The Johnsons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at three addresses

The directories print five people named Johnson at three addresses in 1940, all on Nelson Street, with the close spellings Johanson, Johannson and Johansson. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 209 other streets too, all listed on the Johnson name's own page.

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 Johnsons 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

    1109 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Carl Johnson 1940
    • Ethel J Johnson, widow of J E 1940

    Next door in 1940: Nelson Delctsn at 1107 and Mrs A Davis at 1111. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1236 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • George Johnson, a plumber 1940

    Next door in 1940: A C Goodrich at 1230 and F M Mills at 1242. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1743 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Cherie Johnson, widow of C 1940
    • Rita M Johnson, an operator at the BC Telephone 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss M M Hood at 1737 and R Watson at 1749. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the five: an operator and a plumber. Two are widows, listed under their own names.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (3). 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 Carl Johnson at 1109 Nelson Street, with Ethel J Johnson, widow of J E. The 1940 name section lists George Johnson at 1236 Nelson Street, a plumber. The 1940 name section lists Cherie Johnson at 1743 Nelson Street, widow of C, with Rita M Johnson, an operator at the BC Telephone.

Today

The City no longer lists 1109 Nelson, 1236 Nelson and 1743 Nelson, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges
About 1915 Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges. Not at the house at 1109 Nelson: no archive photo of the 1100 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Str P181.2. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 5 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 Johnsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Johnson 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 J. Want a name removed? Tell us.