A family name on West 23rd Avenue, Dunbar-Southlands, Riley Park, South Cambie and Arbutus Ridge
The Nelsons
In the city directories 1940 · two people at two addresses
The directories print two people named Nelson at two addresses in 1940, all on West 23rd Avenue, with the close spellings Neilson and Nielson. No first name or initials tie one address to the other: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 134 other streets too, all listed on the Nelson name's own page.
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 Nelsons lived
- 1
482 West 23rd Avenue
Riley Park, 1940
- O Elmo Nelson, a clerk at the Post Office 1940
Next door in 1940: J R McKenzie at 476. The block, door by door
- 2
929 West 23rd Avenue
South Cambie, 1940
- J Nelson, a carpenter at the CPR 1940
Next door in 1940: Rev W McA Robertson at 915 and T D Hogan at 935. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for all two: a carpenter and a clerk.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Riley Park and South Cambie. 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 O Elmo Nelson at 482 West 23rd Avenue, a clerk at the Post Office. J Nelson is listed at 929 West 23rd Avenue 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 John Nelson there as the householder, a carpenter at the CPR, with Janet Nelson.
Today
929 West 23rd still has its building from before 1946, dated 1920 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 482 West 23rd, so that building is probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 4 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Nelson O Elmo clk PO482 West 23rd, p. 456
- *Nelson J929 West 23rd, p. 237
- Nelson Janet929 West 23rd, p. 456
- Nelson John carp CPR929 West 23rd, p. 456
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Nelsons
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Nelson 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.
We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.
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.