Vancouver / Names / M / McStay

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The McStays

In the city directories 1940 · three people at three addresses

The directories print three people named McStay at three 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.

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 McStays 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

    2125 East 50th Avenue

    Victoria-Fraserview, 1940

    • J T McStay, a planerman at Canadian White Pine 1940

    Next door in 1940: C Chambers at 2111 and J Glover at 2141. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    822 East 51st Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • F J McStay, a grader at Canadian White Pine 1940

    Next door in 1940: N Diewert at 836. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2625 Point Grey Road

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Kathleen McStay, a maid for E A Riddell 1940

    Next door in 1940: L P Young at 2615 and A Chapman at 2633. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for all three: a grader, a maid and a planerman. Two of them worked for Canadian White Pine.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano, Sunset and Victoria-Fraserview. 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 J T McStay at 2125 East 50th Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists James T McStay there as the householder, a planerman at Canadian White Pine. In 1940 the directory lists F J McStay at 822 East 51st Avenue; 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 Frank J McStay there as the householder, a grader at Canadian White Pine.

The 1940 name section lists Kathleen McStay at 2625 Point Grey Road, a maid for E A Riddell.

Today

822 East 51st still has its building from before 1946, dated 1938 by the City's record; 2125 East 50th (1971) and 2625 Point Grey Road (1987) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

Every line as printed

All 5 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 McStays

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the McStay 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.