Vancouver / Names / P / Polson

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Polsons

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at eight addresses

The directories print eleven people named Polson at eight addresses in 1940 in six 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 Polsons lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    1056 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Johanne Polson, a nurse at the St Paul's Hospital 1940

    Next door in 1940: G P Campbell at 1070. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1534 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Lillian Polson, a hairdresser 1940

    Next door in 1940: E W Graham at 1528 and “Rooms” at 1546. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2874 East 15th Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • S A Polson, a carpenter 1940

    Next door in 1940: L M Coutu at 2864. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1808 East 3rd Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • S G Polson, a painter 1940
    • Johan S Polson, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: R McKinnon at 1804 and W Pritchard at 1816. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    776 Homer Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Joseph Poulson, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Morgan & Co at 766 and 8 listings at 782. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    3456 West 18th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Elizabeth Polson, widow of S 1940

    Next door in 1940: W B Davidson at 3446 and A W Morton at 3466. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    1450 West 39th Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • T C Polson, a department manager at Woodward's 1940
    • Jack A Polson, a clerk at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: W J McRoberts at 1438 and P Paris at 1460. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    14 West Cordova Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Don Polson, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway 1940
    • William Polson, a tailor 1940

    Next door in 1940: Garbo Cafe at 12 and Central Drug Store at 16. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for eight of the eleven: a carpenter, a clerk, a department manager, a hairdresser, a motorman and a nurse, among others. Two of them worked for BC Electric Railway. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (2), West End (2), Dunbar-Southlands, Grandview-Woodland, Renfrew-Collingwood and Shaughnessy. 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 Johanne Polson at 1056 Comox Street, a nurse at the St Paul's Hospital. The 1940 name section lists Lillian Polson at 1534 Comox Street, a hairdresser. In 1940 the directory lists S A Polson at 2874 East 15th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Sam A Polson there as the householder, a carpenter.

In 1940 the directory lists S G Polson at 1808 East 3rd Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Snabjorn G Polson there as the householder, a painter, with Johan S Polson, a student. The 1940 name section lists Joseph Poulson at 776 Homer Street, retired. The 1940 name section lists Elizabeth Polson at 3456 West 18th Avenue, widow of S.

In 1940 the directory lists T C Polson at 1450 West 39th 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 Thomas C Polson there as the householder, a department manager at Woodward's, with Jack A Polson, a clerk at the BC Electric Railway. The 1940 name section lists Don Polson at 14 West Cordova Street, a motorman at the BC Electric Railway, with William Polson, a tailor.

Today

1808 East 3rd and 3456 West 18th still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 1056 Comox, 1534 Comox, 2874 East 15th, 776 Homer, 1450 West 39th and 14 West Cordova, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 14 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 Polsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Polson 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.