Vancouver / Names / L / Lee / Keefer Street

A family name on Keefer Street, Strathcona and Downtown

The Lees

In the city directories 1935–1945 · eleven people at ten addresses

The directories print eleven people named Lee at ten addresses between 1935 and 1945, all on Keefer Street. The same first name and initials follow two families between addresses (inferred); the others share only the surname, so we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 105 other streets too, all listed on the Lee 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 Lees lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below; a gold thread joins the addresses of a person we follow from one to the next, by the same first name and initials (inferred). Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. Following C T Lee, at three addresses (inferred)
  2. 1

    751 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1935

    Next door in 1935: Mrs L Woo at 747 and “Orientals” at 753. The block, door by door

  3. 2

    799 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    Next door in 1940: kirby block at 797. The block, door by door

  4. 3

    734 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940 and 1945

    • G Lee, a taxi 1940
    • C T Lee 1945; in 1935 at 751 Keefer and in 1940 at 799 Keefer
    • Henry Lee, a waiter 1940

    Next door in 1945: W Eng at 730 and R Jeskay at 742. The block, door by door

  5. Following W H Lee, at two addresses (inferred)
  6. 4

    730 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • W H Lee 1940; in 1945 at 630 Keefer
    • Wallace M Lee, an insurance agent 1940

    Next door in 1940: M Butorac at 726 and eagle apts at 734. The block, door by door

  7. 5

    630 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1945

    Next door in 1945: J Wong at 626 and Good Shepherd Mission at 636. The block, door by door

  8. Sharing only the surname
  9. 6

    159 Keefer Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • P Lee, a cook 1940

    Next door in 1940: Watson Bros at 155 and Y Wong at 161. The block, door by door

  10. 7

    223 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Ying Lee, a president at Kam Yen Jan Co 1940

    Next door in 1940: Florist Keefer at 215 and Dan C C Co at 227. The block, door by door

  11. 8

    432 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Lee 1940
    • Lee (no first name printed) 1940

    Next door in 1940: Hing Mee Kee Loo Soc at 428 and Mrs S Berardino at 436. The block, door by door

  12. 9

    677 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Lun Lee, a cook 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Wakaluk at 673. The block, door by door

  13. 10

    783 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1945

    • G Lee 1945

    Next door in 1945: J Frost at 791. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the eleven: a cook (2), an insurance agent, a president, a taxi and a waiter.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Strathcona (9) and Downtown. 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 1935 the directory lists C T Lee at 751 Keefer Street. In 1940 Chong Tai Lee, a grocer, is listed at 799 Keefer Street (inferred): the same name and initials as at 751 Keefer in 1935, so most likely the same person. In 1940 the directory lists G Lee at 734 Keefer Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Gordon Lee there as the householder, a taxi, with Henry Lee, a waiter.

In 1945 C T Lee is listed there (inferred): the same name and initials as at 799 Keefer in 1940, so most likely the same person. P Lee is listed at 159 Keefer Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Park Lee there as the householder, a cook.

Ying Lee is listed at 223 Keefer Street in 1940; 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 Ying Lee there as the householder, a president at Kam Yen Jan Co. Lee is listed at 432 Keefer Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Lee (no first name printed) there as the householder.

Lun Lee is listed at 677 Keefer Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Lun Lee there as the householder, a cook.

W H Lee is listed at 730 Keefer Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Wallace M Lee there as the householder, an insurance agent. In 1945 W H Lee is listed at 630 Keefer Street (inferred): the same name and initials as at 730 Keefer in 1940, so most likely the same person. In 1945 the directory lists G Lee at 783 Keefer Street.

Today

751 Keefer and 630 Keefer still have their buildings from before 1946, 630 Keefer on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 223 Keefer (1982) and 783 Keefer (1986) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 159 Keefer, 432 Keefer, 677 Keefer, 730 Keefer, 734 Keefer and 799 Keefer, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

The Wong Wing Fong family on Keefer Street
1914 The Wong Wing Fong family on Keefer Street. Not at the house at 734 Keefer: no archive photo of the 700 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, 2021-034.288, photo by Yucho Chow Studio. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 18 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 Lees

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Lee 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 L. Want a name removed? Tell us.