Vancouver / Names / M / Messenger

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Messengers

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Messenger at five addresses in 1940 in four 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 Messengers 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

    233 Abbott Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • A Messinger, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Van Belt Works at 219 and Oland Rooms at 247. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    5883 Cree Street

    Sunset, 1940

    • C A Messenger, a driver at the City of Vancouver 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Symington at 5861 and T L Lawrence at 5895. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1938 East 12th Avenue

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • Reginald Messenger 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Nordlund at 1930 and W Langley at 1944. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    416 East 46th Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • H E Messenger, a machinist 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs G Young at 408 and A G P Todd at 432. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1558 Harwood Street

    West End, 1940

    • Richard C Messenger, an insurance agent 1940

    Next door in 1940: R M Blair at 1550. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a driver, an insurance agent and a machinist.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Sunset (2), Downtown, Kensington-Cedar Cottage and West End. 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 A Messinger at 233 Abbott Street, retired. C A Messenger is listed at 5883 Cree 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 Charles A Messenger there as the householder, a driver at the City of Vancouver. The 1940 name section lists Reginald Messenger at 1938 East 12th Avenue.

In 1940 the directory lists H E Messenger at 416 East 46th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Herbert E Messenger there as the householder, a machinist. The 1940 name section lists Richard C Messenger at 1558 Harwood Street as the householder, an insurance agent.

Today

233 Abbott and 416 East 46th still have their buildings from before 1946, 233 Abbott on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 5883 Cree (1988), 1938 East 12th (2002) and 1558 Harwood (1985) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

Every line as printed

All 7 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 Messengers

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Messenger 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.