Vancouver / Names / P / Penwill

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Penwills

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at four addresses

The directories print eight people named Penwill at four 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. The most under one roof: five Penwills at 4709 Windsor 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 Penwills 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

    1035 West 13th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Mrs A C Penwill, widow of W F 1940

    Next door in 1940: Kindergarten Fairview at 1045. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3175 West 5th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • F H Penwill, a dentist 1940

    Next door in 1940: T C Stamatis at 3183. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    925 West Georgia Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • F H Penwill, a dentist 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lunch Sandwich at 915 and Macdonald's Prescriptions at 929. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4709 Windsor Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • S Penwill, a gardener 1940
    • Dorothy Penwill, a bookkeeper for W C Stearman 1940
    • Eleanor A Penwill 1940
    • Gordon Penwill, an apprentice at Letson & Burpee 1940
    • Mabel Penwill 1940

    Next door in 1940: H C Johnston at 4723. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the eight: an apprentice, a bookkeeper, a dentist and a gardener. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Fairview, Kensington-Cedar Cottage and Kitsilano. 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 Mrs A C Penwill at 1035 West 13th Avenue; 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Alice C Penwill there as the householder, widow of W F. In 1940 the directory lists F H Penwill at 3175 West 5th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Frank H Penwill there as the householder, a dentist.

In 1940 the directory lists F H Penwill, a dentist, at 925 West Georgia Street. S Penwill is listed at 4709 Windsor Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Sid Penwill there as the householder, a gardener, with Dorothy Penwill, a bookkeeper for W C Stearman, Eleanor A Penwill, Gordon Penwill, an apprentice at Letson & Burpee, and Mabel Penwill.

Today

3175 West 5th and 4709 Windsor still have their buildings from before 1946; 1035 West 13th (1976) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 925 West Georgia, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 11 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 Penwills

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Penwill 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 P. Want a name removed? Tell us.