Vancouver / Names / M / McKay / Nelson Street

A family name on Nelson Street, West End and Downtown

The McKays

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at five addresses

The directories print seven people named McKay at five addresses in 1940, all on Nelson 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

    1109 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • William J McKay 1940

    Next door in 1940: Nelson Delctsn at 1107 and Mrs A Davis at 1111. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1115 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Ron F Mackay, a clerk at Pacific Power & Water 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs A Davis at 1111 and W A Campbell at 1117. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1225 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs C Mackay, widow of J 1940
    • Violet K Mackay, a stenographer at the City of Vancouver 1940

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

  4. 4

    1245 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Miss M C McKay 1940
    • Margaret C McKay, a stenographer at the Workmen's Compensation Board 1940

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

  5. 5

    1606 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • J B McKay, a car repairer at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs H Bellamy at 1616. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the seven: a stenographer (2), a car repairer and a clerk. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (5). 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 William J McKay at 1109 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists Ron F Mackay at 1115 Nelson Street, a clerk at Pacific Power & Water. In 1940 the directory lists Mrs C Mackay at 1225 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists Christine Mackay there as the householder, widow of J, with Violet K Mackay, a stenographer at the City of Vancouver.

In 1940 the directory lists Miss M C McKay at 1245 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists Margaret C McKay there as the householder, a stenographer at the Workmen's Compensation Board. In 1940 the directory lists J B McKay at 1606 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists John B McKay there as the householder, a car repairer at the BC Electric Railway.

Today

1225 Nelson and 1606 Nelson still have their buildings from before 1946; 1115 Nelson (1969) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1109 Nelson and 1245 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 1225 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 9 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 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.