Vancouver / Names / N / Nelson / West 3rd Avenue

A family name on West 3rd Avenue, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Fairview and West Point Grey

The Nelsons

In the city directories 1940 · four people at three addresses

The directories print four people named Nelson at three addresses in 1940, all on West 3rd Avenue, with the close spellings Neilson and Nielson. No first name or initials tie one address to another: 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

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

    1597 West 3rd Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • J W Nelson 1940

    Next door in 1940: “Cabins” at 1593. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2475 West 3rd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • W H Nelson, in apartments 1940

    Next door in 1940: hilton house at 2465. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2630 West 3rd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • David G Nelson, a compositor for A H Timms 1940
    • George T Nelson, a salesman at Campbell & Castleman 1940

    Next door in 1940: D A Wightman at 2624 and Mrs M Haslam at 2636. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the four: a compositor and a salesman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano (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

In 1940 the directory lists J W Nelson at 1597 West 3rd Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Joseph W Nelson there as the householder. In 1940 the directory lists W H Nelson, in apartments, at 2475 West 3rd Avenue. The 1940 name section lists David G Nelson at 2630 West 3rd Avenue, a compositor for A H Timms, with George T Nelson, a salesman at Campbell & Castleman.

Today

2475 West 3rd and 2630 West 3rd still have their buildings from before 1946, 2475 West 3rd on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 1597 West 3rd, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

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 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.

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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.