Vancouver / Names / L / Lett

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Letts

In the city directories 1940 · four people at four addresses

The directories print four people named Lett at four addresses in 1940 in four 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 Letts 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

    8378 Shaughnessy Street

    Marpole, 1940

    • Anne J Lett, widow of F 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Glendinning at 8322. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1728 West 40th Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • S Lett, of Davis, Pugh, Hossie, Lett & Marshall 1940

    Next door in 1940: A R Leonard at 1708 and Hon J N Ellis at 1742. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4746 West 4th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • W R Lett, a manager at Consolidated Optical 1940

    Next door in 1940: K G Tatlow at 4736 and W Martin at 4756. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2806 West 8th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • C B Lett, a painter 1940

    Next door in 1940: A P Cranswick at 2820. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the four: a manager and a painter. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano, Marpole, Shaughnessy and West Point Grey. 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 Anne J Lett at 8378 Shaughnessy Street, widow of F. S Lett is listed at 1728 West 40th Avenue 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 Sherwood Lett there as the householder, of Davis, Pugh, Hossie, Lett & Marshall.

W R Lett is listed at 4746 West 4th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists W Ralph Lett there as the householder, a manager at Consolidated Optical. C B Lett, a painter, is listed at 2806 West 8th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Charles B Lett there as the householder, a painter.

Today

1728 West 40th still has its building from before 1946, dated 1927 by the City's record; 8378 Shaughnessy (2011) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 4746 West 4th and 2806 West 8th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 7 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 Letts

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Lett 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.