Vancouver / Names / K / Kean

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Keans

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at five addresses

The directories print ten people named Kean at five addresses in 1940 in five 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: four Keans at 2581 Cambridge 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 Keans 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

    2581 Cambridge Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • Mrs M V Kean, widow of R M 1940
    • Henry S Kean 1940
    • Richard W Kean, a cook at Lakewood Fish & Chip Shop 1940
    • Robert S Kean 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss A Barker at 2575 and Mrs A J Kay at 2587. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    531 East Georgia Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • M Kean 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Traff at 517 and Maxim Gorky Club at 533. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1548 Haro Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs L Kean 1940
    • Lorraine E Kean, an operator at the BC Telephone 1940
    • Roland Kean, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs I S McPhail at 1542. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    7695 Prince Edward Street

    Sunset, 1940

    • Josiah W Kean, a lumberman 1940

    Next door in 1940: R S Gordon at 7633. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    246 Robson Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Mrs L A Kean, widow of J F 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs P Brooks at 230. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the ten: a cook, a lumberman and an operator. Two are widows, listed under their own names.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Hastings-Sunrise, Strathcona, Sunset 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

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs M V Kean at 2581 Cambridge Street; 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 Mabel V Kean there as the householder, widow of R M, with Henry S Kean, Richard W Kean, a cook at Lakewood Fish & Chip Shop, and Robert S Kean. The 1940 name section lists M Kean at 531 East Georgia Street.

Mrs L Kean is listed at 1548 Haro Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Louise Kean there as the householder, with Lorraine E Kean, an operator at the BC Telephone, and Roland Kean, a student. The 1940 name section lists Josiah W Kean at 7695 Prince Edward Street, a lumberman.

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs L A Kean at 246 Robson Street. The 1940 name section lists Lydia A Kean there as the householder, widow of J F.

Today

2581 Cambridge (2014) and 7695 Prince Edward (1980) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 531 East Georgia, 1548 Haro and 246 Robson, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 13 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 Keans

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Kean 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 K. Want a name removed? Tell us.