Vancouver / Names / M / McDonald / Nelson Street

A family name on Nelson Street, West End and Downtown

The McDonalds

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at eight addresses

The directories print eleven people named McDonald at eight addresses in 1940, all on Nelson Street, with the close spellings MacDonald and Macdonald. 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 McDonalds at 1245 Nelson in 1940. The directories print the name on 231 other streets too, all listed on the McDonald 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 McDonalds 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

    750 Nelson Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • D J MacDonald, a shoe repairer 1940

    Next door in 1940: Fuji Wear Shop at 746 and Barbers Crescent at 756. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1049 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • McDonald (no first name printed) 1940

    Next door in 1940: M C O'Brien at 1025. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1070 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Eccles MacDonald, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: caroline court at 1058. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1138 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Ian S Macdonald, a clerk for J J Whalen 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss G Morton at 1132 and T W Pluto at 1144. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1150 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • W McDonald, an engineer 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs J Neilson at 1148 and F O Gunton at 1160. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1173 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Alex McDonald 1940

    Next door in 1940: W B Pitman at 1171. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    1245 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • N S McDonald 1940
    • M Jean Macdonald, a stenographer at Dominion Life 1940
    • Robert J McDonald, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: queen anne gardens at 1235. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    1661 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • J S McDonald, retired 1940
    • Fannie E McDonald, who worked for Mitchell-Foley 1940

    Next door in 1940: C E Collier at 1649 and Miss M G Doheny at 1663. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the eleven: a clerk, an engineer, a shoe repairer and a stenographer.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (7) 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 1940 the directory lists D J MacDonald, a shoe repairer, at 750 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Don J MacDonald there, a shoe repairer. In 1940 the directory lists McDonald (no first name printed) at 1049 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists Eccles MacDonald at 1070 Nelson Street, retired.

The 1940 name section lists Ian S Macdonald at 1138 Nelson Street, a clerk for J J Whalen. W McDonald is listed at 1150 Nelson Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists William McDonald there as the householder, an engineer. The 1940 name section lists Alex McDonald at 1173 Nelson Street.

In 1940 the directory lists N S McDonald at 1245 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists M Jean Macdonald there, a stenographer at Dominion Life, with Robert J McDonald, a student. In 1940 the directory lists J S McDonald at 1661 Nelson 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 lists John S McDonald there as the householder, retired, with Fannie E McDonald, who worked for Mitchell-Foley.

Today

750 Nelson (1988), 1070 Nelson (1980) and 1150 Nelson (1974) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1049 Nelson, 1138 Nelson, 1173 Nelson, 1245 Nelson and 1661 Nelson, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges
About 1915 Nelson Street, a wide street of houses behind hedges. Not at the house at 1245 Nelson: no archive photo of the 1200 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Str P181.2. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 14 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 McDonalds

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the McDonald 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.