Vancouver / Names / P / Plumsteel

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Plumsteels

In the city directories 1940 · four people at three addresses

The directories print four people named Plumsteel at three addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

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 Plumsteels 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

    946 West 12th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • W Plumsteel, an assistant fire chief at the City of Vancouver 1940
    • Margaret E Plumsteel, a saleswoman 1940

    Next door in 1940: J E Watkins at 936 and M K Yip at 956. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3980 West 19th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • H W Plumsteel, a mechanic at Scale Shop 1940

    Next door in 1940: C R Steele at 3974 and F Blondheim at 3984. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1774 West 5th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Earl C Plumsteel, a printer 1940

    Next door in 1940: E J Van Balkom at 1754 and E H Davis at 1786. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for all four: an assistant fire chief, a mechanic, a printer and a saleswoman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2) and Dunbar-Southlands. 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 W Plumsteel at 946 West 12th 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 William Plumsteel there as the householder, an assistant fire chief at the City of Vancouver, with Margaret E Plumsteel, a saleswoman. In 1940 the directory lists H W Plumsteel at 3980 West 19th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Harold W Plumsteel there as the householder, a mechanic at Scale Shop.

The 1940 name section lists Earl C Plumsteel at 1774 West 5th Avenue, a printer.

Today

3980 West 19th still has its building from before 1946, dated 1939 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 946 West 12th and 1774 West 5th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 6 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 Plumsteels

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Plumsteel 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.