Vancouver / Names / M / Matsui

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Matsuis

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at six addresses

The directories print nine people named Matsui at six addresses in 1940 in three 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: three Matsuis at 2796 West 33rd 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 Matsuis 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

    368 East Cordova Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Masao Matsui, of Vancouver Button Works 1940

    Next door in 1940: S Fujioka at 358 and T Suzuki at 372. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    445 Gore Avenue

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Jack Matsui, a manager at the East Hotel 1940
  3. 3

    114 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Mrs S Matsui, widow of Z 1940
    • Yoshio Matsui, proprietor of Tammy Bicycle Shop 1940

    Next door in 1940: Tammy Bicycle Shop at 112. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    369 Powell Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Otokazu Matsui, a driver for T Maikawa 1940

    Next door in 1940: kasuga conf at 359 and H Suzuki at 377. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    2796 West 33rd Avenue

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • Miss M Matsui 1940
    • Mime Matsui, a bookkeeper at Powell Lumber 1940
    • Torogoro Matsui 1940

    Next door in 1940: H A MacLeod at 2762. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    784 West 69th Avenue

    Marpole, 1940

    • T Matsui, a clerk at Spencer's 1940

    Next door in 1940: T K Bradbury at 764. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the nine: a bookkeeper, a clerk, a driver, a manager and a proprietor. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Strathcona (4), Arbutus Ridge and Marpole. 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 Masao Matsui at 368 East Cordova Street, of Vancouver Button Works. The 1940 name section lists Jack Matsui at 445 Gore Avenue, a manager at the East Hotel. In 1940 the directory lists Mrs S Matsui at 114 Main Street. The 1940 name section lists Shizue Matsui there as the householder, widow of Z, with Yoshio Matsui, proprietor of Tammy Bicycle Shop.

The 1940 name section lists Otokazu Matsui at 369 Powell Street, a driver for T Maikawa. Miss M Matsui is listed at 2796 West 33rd 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 Mime Matsui there as the householder, a bookkeeper at Powell Lumber, with Torogoro Matsui.

T Matsui is listed at 784 West 69th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Toshiro Matsui there as the householder, a clerk at Spencer's.

Today

445 Gore and 2796 West 33rd still have their buildings from before 1946; 368 East Cordova (1975) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 114 Main, 369 Powell and 784 West 69th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Streetcars on Main Street, past a row of billboards
March 1940 Streetcars on Main Street, past a row of billboards. Not at the house at 114 Main: no archive photo of the 100 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 136-513. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 11 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 Matsuis

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Matsui 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 M. Want a name removed? Tell us.