Vancouver / Names / K / Kee

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Kees

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at eight addresses

The directories print eight people named Kee at eight 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.

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 Kees 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

    4315 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Fong Kee, of Kelowna Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lending Library Dunbar at 4311 and J Heskin at 4321. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    203 East Pender Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • T Kee 1940

    Next door in 1940: Min Bet Suey Kuo at 205. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1154 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Wah Kee, proprietor of Mayfair Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: Assoc Hdw Jobbers at 1152 and S W Merrin at 1156. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    700 Jackson Avenue

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Low Kee 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs C Patzer at 708. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    642 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Kong Kee, in produce 1940

    Next door in 1940: Handy Second Hd Store at 636 and St Clair Meat Mkt at 646. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    2324 West 4th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Bing Kee, of Public Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: Can Window Bkries at 2320 and Meadow Meat Mkt at 2326. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    346 West 6th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Lum Kee, a manager at Hop Sing Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: M McArthur at 334 and F L Wong at 350. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    2 West Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Y Kee, a cleaner 1940

    Next door in 1940: Fong Wong at 4. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the eight: a manager and a proprietor.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Strathcona (3), Downtown (2), Dunbar-Southlands, Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant. 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 Fong Kee at 4315 Dunbar Street, of Kelowna Products. T Kee is listed at 203 East Pender Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Wah Kee at 1154 Granville Street, proprietor of Mayfair Laundry.

Low Kee is listed at 700 Jackson Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Low Kee there as the householder. Kong Kee, in produce, is listed at 642 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Bing Kee at 2324 West 4th Avenue, of Public Products.

The 1940 name section lists Lum Kee at 346 West 6th Avenue, a manager at Hop Sing Laundry. In 1940 the directory lists Y Kee, a cleaner, at 2 West Pender Street.

Today

700 Jackson still has its building from before 1946, dated 1901 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 4315 Dunbar, 203 East Pender, 1154 Granville, 642 Main, 2324 West 4th, 346 West 6th and 2 West Pender, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 9 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 Kees

Every directory, as one book

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