Vancouver / Names / P / Polley

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Polleys

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at eight addresses

The directories print eleven people named Polley at eight 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.

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 Polleys 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

    1447 Barclay Street

    West End, 1940

    • Nora Polley, a stenographer at McGeachie & Holdsworth 1940

    Next door in 1940: Marlyn (The) at 1433 and G W Weeks at 1459. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    478 East 10th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Miss M K Polley 1940
    • M Kath Polley 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M McDonald at 470 and Mrs M Patterson at 484. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    283 East 5th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • J S Polley, a manager at White Rock Shell Fish 1940
    • Alda L Polley 1940

    Next door in 1940: P Gulbransen at 279. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    55 East 7th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • M Polley, a guard 1940
    • James Polley, a helper at Mount Pleasant S&D 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Bartus at 43 and S Straker at 57. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    2520 Manitoba Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • G T Polley, an engineer at Canadian Ice Machinery 1940

    Next door in 1940: J W Jenkins at 2522. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    2515 Vine Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Mrs C K Polley 1940

    Next door in 1940: A C Burman at 2517. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    2426 West 14th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • J L Polley, a clerk at Shell Oil 1940

    Next door in 1940: R R Moldowan at 2416 and A Lougheed at 2436. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    3231 West 36th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • L R Polley, a teletype operator 1940

    Next door in 1940: F W Johnson at 3221 and T Gustavson at 3257. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the eleven: a clerk, an engineer, a guard, a helper, a manager and a stenographer, among others.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Mount Pleasant (4), Kitsilano (2), Dunbar-Southlands and West End. 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 Nora Polley at 1447 Barclay Street, a stenographer at McGeachie & Holdsworth. Miss M K Polley is listed at 478 East 10th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists M Kath Polley there as the householder.

J S Polley is listed at 283 East 5th 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 S Polley there as the householder, a manager at White Rock Shell Fish, with Alda L Polley. M Polley is listed at 55 East 7th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Michael Polley there as the householder, a guard, with James Polley, a helper at Mount Pleasant S&D.

G T Polley is listed at 2520 Manitoba Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Gordon T Polley there as the householder, an engineer at Canadian Ice Machinery. Mrs C K Polley is listed at 2515 Vine Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Cath K Polley there as the householder.

J L Polley is listed at 2426 West 14th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Joseph L Polley there as the householder, a clerk at Shell Oil. L R Polley is listed at 3231 West 36th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Lorne R Polley there as the householder, a teletype operator.

Today

1447 Barclay and 2515 Vine still have their buildings from before 1946, 1447 Barclay on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 55 East 7th (1974), 2520 Manitoba (2007), 2426 West 14th (2000) and 3231 West 36th (2018) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 478 East 10th and 283 East 5th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 17 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Polleys

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Polley 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.