Vancouver / Names / M / McMurdo

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The McMurdos

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at six addresses

The directories print nine people named McMurdo at six addresses in 1940 in five 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 McMurdos at 4796 Quebec 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 McMurdos lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    295 East 2nd Avenue

    Strathcona, 1940

    • William L McMurdo, an orderly at the Vancouver General Hospital 1940

    Next door in 1940: Van Casket Co at 291. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    166 East 35th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Thomas McMurdo, of Connaught Service 1940

    Next door in 1940: P Shimmin at 156 and D Berg at 168. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    137 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Robert McMurdo 1940

    Next door in 1940: Great West Elec & Radio at 135 and Carrie's Dress Shop at 139. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4796 Quebec Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • J McMurdo, a driver at Associated Dairies 1940
    • M Margaret McMurdo, a saleswoman at Woodward's 1940
    • Robert McMurdo, a driver at Macdonalds Consolidated 1940

    Next door in 1940: J L Martin at 4764. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    58 West 63rd Avenue

    Marpole, 1940

    • Mary McMurdo, widow of R 1940

    Next door in 1940: C M Fisher at 82. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1728 Yew Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • J McMurdo, retired 1940
    • William McMurdo, an attendant at Oke & Duke 1940

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the nine: a driver (2), an attendant, an orderly and a saleswoman. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (2), Downtown, Kitsilano, Marpole and Strathcona. 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 L McMurdo at 295 East 2nd Avenue, an orderly at the Vancouver General Hospital. The 1940 name section lists Thomas McMurdo at 166 East 35th Avenue, of Connaught Service. The 1940 name section lists Robert McMurdo at 137 East Hastings Street.

J McMurdo is listed at 4796 Quebec Street 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 James McMurdo there as the householder, a blacksmith at Associated Dairies, with James A McMurdo, a driver at Associated Dairies, Jean E McMurdo, M Margaret McMurdo, a saleswoman at Woodward's, and Robert McMurdo, a driver at Macdonalds Consolidated. The 1940 name section lists Mary McMurdo at 58 West 63rd Avenue, widow of R.

In 1940 the directory lists J McMurdo at 1728 Yew Street. The 1940 name section lists John McMurdo there as the householder, retired, with William McMurdo, an attendant at Oke & Duke.

Today

137 East Hastings, 4796 Quebec and 1728 Yew still have their buildings from before 1946; 295 East 2nd (1976) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 166 East 35th and 58 West 63rd, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

A girl at the dirt crossing of 10th Avenue and Quebec Street, looking east along 10th
1900 A girl at the dirt crossing of 10th Avenue and Quebec Street, looking east along 10th. Not at the house at 4796 Quebec: no archive photo of the 4700 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, Str P273. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 13 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 McMurdos

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the McMurdo 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.