A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Poiriers
In the city directories 1940 · 17 people at eleven addresses
The directories print 17 people named Poirier at eleven addresses in 1940 in nine 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: four Poiriers at 1795 East 59th 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 Poiriers lived
- 1
1663 Avondale Avenue
Shaughnessy, 1940
- Aileen Poirier, a maid for C B Quigley 1940
Next door in 1940: J Falconer at 1649. The block, door by door
- 2
1128 Davie Street
West End, 1940
- Helen Poirier, a packer at Nabob Food Products 1940
- Porier (no first name printed) 1940
Next door in 1940: Mrs B E Purkis at 1126 and Mrs A M Grisdale at 1130. The block, door by door
- 3
2219 East 30th Avenue
Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940
- R J Poirier, a benchman at Hammond's 1940
Next door in 1940: E E Greenwood at 2239. The block, door by door
- 4
1795 East 59th Avenue
Victoria-Fraserview, 1940
- N Poirier, a salesman for P Paris 1940
- Eldege A Poirier, a clipper at BC Plywoods 1940
- Evelyn E Poirier, a hairdresser for Maison Henri 1940
- J Paul Poirier 1940
Next door in 1940: M Burns at 1711. The block, door by door
- 5
- 6
7876 French Street
Marpole, 1940
- N O Poirier, a millwright 1940
Next door in 1940: J A Allam at 7836 and J Nicol at 7890. The block, door by door
- 7
1212 Granville Street
Downtown, 1940
- Harry Poirier 1940
Next door in 1940: Apex Furn at 1210 and Baggage City at 1214. The block, door by door
- 8
733 Nicola Street
West End, 1940
- Wilfred C Poirier, a yardman 1940
Next door in 1940: W A Coulson at 763. The block, door by door
- 9
138 West 10th Avenue
Mount Pleasant, 1940
- E Poirier, a driver 1940
Next door in 1940: Mrs E J McNair at 130 and F W Welsh at 140. The block, door by door
- 10
1713 West 5th Avenue
Fairview, 1940
- J Poirier, an oiler at H M Shingle 1940
- Clarence A Poirier, who worked for Murphy's Cartage 1940
- Lewis Poirier, a driver 1940
Next door in 1940: W H Clements at 1717. The block, door by door
- 11
927 West Pender Street
Downtown, 1940
- I J Poirier, a salesman at Beatty Bros 1940
Next door in 1940: Weeks & Co Ltd at 923 and Graham Elec at 929. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for 13 of the 17: a driver (2), a salesman (2), a benchman, a clipper, an employee and a hairdresser, among others.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Downtown (2), West End (2), Fairview, Grandview-Woodland, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Marpole, Mount Pleasant, Shaughnessy and Victoria-Fraserview. 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 Aileen Poirier at 1663 Avondale Avenue, a maid for C B Quigley. The 1940 name section lists Helen Poirier at 1128 Davie Street, a packer at Nabob Food Products, with Porier (no first name printed). In 1940 the directory lists R J Poirier at 2219 East 30th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Ray J Poirier there as the householder, a benchman at Hammond's.
In 1940 the directory lists N Poirier at 1795 East 59th 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 lists Napoleon Poirier there as the householder, a salesman for P Paris, with Eldege A Poirier, a clipper at BC Plywoods, Evelyn E Poirier, a hairdresser for Maison Henri, and J Paul Poirier. The 1940 name section lists Maxim Poirier at 1608 Franklin Street.
N O Poirier is listed at 7876 French Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Neal O Poirier there as the householder, a millwright. The 1940 name section lists Harry Poirier at 1212 Granville Street. The 1940 name section lists Wilfred C Poirier at 733 Nicola Street, a yardman.
E Poirier is listed at 138 West 10th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Edgar Poirier there as the householder, a driver. J Poirier is listed at 1713 West 5th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists John Poirier there as the householder, an oiler at H M Shingle, with Clarence A Poirier, who worked for Murphy's Cartage, and Lewis Poirier, a driver.
The 1940 name section lists I J Poirier at 927 West Pender Street, a salesman at Beatty Bros.
Today
1663 Avondale, 1212 Granville and 138 West 10th still have their buildings from before 1946, 138 West 10th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1795 East 59th (1986), 7876 French (1989) and 1713 West 5th (1958) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1128 Davie, 2219 East 30th, 1608 Franklin, 733 Nicola and 927 West Pender, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 22 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Poirier Aileen maid C B Quigley1663 Avondale, p. 497
- Poirier Helen pkr Nabob Food Prods1128 Davie, p. 497
- Porier —1128 Davie, p. 499
- Poirier R J2219 East 30th, p. 246
- Poirier Ray J benchmn Hammond's2219 East 30th, p. 497
- *Poirier N1795 East 59th, p. 269
- Poirier Eldege A clipper BC Plywoods1795 East 59th, p. 497
- Poirier Evelyn E hairdrsr Maison Henri1795 East 59th, p. 497
- Poirier J Paul1795 East 59th, p. 497
- Poirier Napoleon slsmn P Paris1795 East 59th, p. 497
- Poirier Maxim1608 Franklin, p. 497
- Poirier N O7876 French, p. 54
- Poirier Neal O mlwrt HM Shingle7876 French, p. 497
- Poirier Harry1212 Granville, p. 497
- Poirier Wilfd C ydmn733 Nicola, p. 497
- Poirier E138 West 10th, p. 198
- Poirier Edgar drvr138 West 10th, p. 497
- *Poirier J1713 West 5th, p. 184
- Poirier Clarence A emp Murphy's Ctge1713 West 5th, p. 497
- Poirier John oiler H M Shingle1713 West 5th, p. 497
- Poirier Lewis drvr1713 West 5th, p. 497
- Poirier I J slsmn Beatty Bros927 West Pender, p. 497
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Poiriers
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Poirier 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 P. Want a name removed? Tell us.