Vancouver / Names / N / Neff

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Neffs

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at nine addresses

The directories print eleven people named Neff at nine 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 Neffs at 139 West 8th 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 Neffs 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

    1834 Adanac Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Emerson J Neff, an engineer 1940

    Next door in 1940: L J Martin at 1818 and H Smith at 1836. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    5087 Blenheim Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • C H Neff 1940

    Next door in 1940: C Y Naylor at 5061. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    870 Burrard Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs Winnifred E Neff, a dressmaker 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs C Fife at 864 and McLachlan Ltd at 898. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1018 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Harold Neff, a planerman at R & H Sawmill 1940

    Next door in 1940: Oil Burner Dominion at 1016 and Alberta Furn at 1020. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1735 Pendrell Street

    West End, 1940

    • Ralph W Neff, a radio serviceman at Black Bros Motor Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: A H Blair at 1729 and C E Sloan at 1743. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    3128 West 23rd Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Chester H Neff, of Vancouver Building Exhibit 1940

    Next door in 1940: F Fidler at 3116 and E R Nordin at 3140. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    4070 West 33rd Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • J C Neff, a building contractor 1940

    Next door in 1940: C S Clayton at 4064 and Mrs M M Millener at 4078. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    3377 West 39th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • J Berkley Neff, an insurance salesman 1940

    Next door in 1940: G Mayall at 3363 and A Dettman at 3391. The block, door by door

  9. 9

    139 West 8th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • E A V Neff, a carpenter 1940
    • A Neff, a millworker at Hammond's 1940
    • Howard E Neff, a helper at Pacific Meat 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Lemon at 137 and J MacFadyen at 149. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for eight of the eleven: a carpenter, a dressmaker, an engineer, a helper, an insurance salesman and a millworker, among others.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Dunbar-Southlands (4), West End (2), Downtown, Grandview-Woodland and Mount Pleasant. 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 Emerson J Neff at 1834 Adanac Street, an engineer. C H Neff is listed at 5087 Blenheim 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 Mrs Winnifred E Neff at 870 Burrard Street, a dressmaker. The 1940 name section lists Harold Neff at 1018 Granville Street, a planerman at R & H Sawmill.

The 1940 name section lists Ralph W Neff at 1735 Pendrell Street, a radio serviceman at Black Bros Motor Products. The 1940 name section lists Chester H Neff at 3128 West 23rd Avenue, of Vancouver Building Exhibit. In 1940 the directory lists J C Neff, a building contractor, at 4070 West 33rd Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists J Berkley Neff at 3377 West 39th Avenue, an insurance salesman.

In 1940 the directory lists E A V Neff at 139 West 8th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Ernest A Neff there as the householder, a carpenter, with A Neff, a millworker at Hammond's, and Howard E Neff, a helper at Pacific Meat.

Today

1018 Granville, 3128 West 23rd and 3377 West 39th still have their buildings from before 1946; 4070 West 33rd (2003) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1834 Adanac, 5087 Blenheim, 870 Burrard, 1735 Pendrell and 139 West 8th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 12 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 Neffs

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Neff 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 N. Want a name removed? Tell us.