Vancouver / Names / M / Morita

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Moritas

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at five addresses

The directories print eleven people named Morita at five 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. The most under one roof: five Moritas at 1865 Powell 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 Moritas 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

    406 Alexander Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Katsuyoshi Morita 1940

    Next door in 1940: E Hiraga at 410. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    612 East Hastings Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • G Morita, a millworker 1940
    • Mrs Eiko Morita, proprietor of Howard Grocery 1940

    Next door in 1940: New Method Barber Shop at 600 and Mrs I Bynoe at 618. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1865 Powell Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Mrs T Morita 1940
    • Chiyeko Morita 1940
    • Iwao Morita, a laborer 1940
    • Kaowa Morita 1940
    • Toshiko Morita, a millworker at Sterling Lumber 1940

    Next door in 1940: S Scott at 1855 and Mrs T Morita at 1867. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1867 Powell Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Mrs T Morita, a grocer 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Weir at 1865 and Cedar Cove Hdw at 1869. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1645 West Broadway

    Fairview, 1940

    • M Morita, a gardener 1940
    • Mrs A Morita, a dressmaker 1940

    Next door in 1940: C Hawkins at 1627 and Natl Inst of Mus & Art at 1655. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the eleven: a millworker (2), a dressmaker, a gardener, a laborer and a proprietor.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Grandview-Woodland (2), Strathcona (2) and Fairview. 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 Katsuyoshi Morita at 406 Alexander Street. G Morita is listed at 612 East Hastings Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Ginosuke Morita there as the householder, a millworker, with Mrs Eiko Morita, proprietor of Howard Grocery.

Mrs T Morita is listed at 1865 Powell 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 Chiyeko Morita there, with Iwao Morita, a laborer, Kaowa Morita, and Toshiko Morita, a millworker at Sterling Lumber. Mrs T Morita, a grocer, is listed at 1867 Powell Street in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs A Morita, a dressmaker, at 1645 West Broadway. By 1940 it is M Morita. The 1940 name section lists Mashiki Morita there as the householder, a gardener, with Mrs Aki Morita, a dressmaker.

Today

1867 Powell still has its building from before 1946, dated 1912 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 406 Alexander, 612 East Hastings, 1865 Powell and 1645 West Broadway, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 14 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 Moritas

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Morita 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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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.