Vancouver / Names / M / McKay / Comox Street

A family name on Comox Street, West End

The McKays

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named McKay at four addresses in 1940, all on Comox Street, with the close spellings MacKay and Mackay. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 148 other streets too, all listed on the McKay 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 McKays 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

    1149 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • P H MacKay, a waiter at the BC Coast Steamship Service 1940

    Next door in 1940: K Ring at 1147 and J M Olsen at 1151. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1275 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs G Mackay, widow of G 1940

    Next door in 1940: R V Winch at 1255. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1350 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • A A MacKay, a conductor at the BC Electric Railway 1940
    • Kate MacKay 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Pitman at 1344 and Miss E Hall at 1356. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1740 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Herbert E McKay, a helper at Sitka Spruce Lumber 1940

    Next door in 1940: R G Stevens at 1734 and W G Collier at 1746. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a conductor, a helper and a waiter. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (4). 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 P H MacKay at 1149 Comox Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Patrick H MacKay there as the householder, a waiter at the BC Coast Steamship Service. In 1940 the directory lists Mrs G Mackay at 1275 Comox 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 Gertrude Mackay there as the householder, widow of G.

In 1940 the directory lists A A MacKay at 1350 Comox Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Alex A MacKay there as the householder, a conductor at the BC Electric Railway, with Kate MacKay. The 1940 name section lists Herbert E McKay at 1740 Comox Street, a helper at Sitka Spruce Lumber.

Today

1275 Comox (1956), 1350 Comox (1982) and 1740 Comox (1976) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1149 Comox, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Comox Street looking east from Denman, lined with cut-back boulevard trees
1925 Comox Street looking east from Denman, lined with cut-back boulevard trees. Not at the house at 1350 Comox: no archive photo of the 1300 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 357-1. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 8 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 McKays

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the McKay 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.