Vancouver / Names / P / Purdie

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Purdies

In the city directories 1940 · six people at four addresses

The directories print six people named Purdie at four addresses in 1940 in three 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 Purdies 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

    735 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • R M T Purdie, a mechanic at Otis-Fenson Elevator 1940

    Next door in 1940: J A Wylie at 773. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2570 Hemlock Street

    Fairview, 1940

    • Miss A J G Purdie 1940
    • Anna J G Purdie, a school teacher 1940

    Next door in 1940: Beauty Salon French at 2530. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2521 Triumph Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • C A Purdie, a roofer 1940

    Next door in 1940: H M Yourex at 2517 and H Turner at 2527. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1484 West 10th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Gordon K Purdie, a clerk at Canada Perm Mortgage 1940
    • Margaret Purdie, widow of R P 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Mill at 1456. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the six: a clerk, a mechanic, a roofer and a school teacher. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2), Hastings-Sunrise 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

In 1940 the directory lists R M T Purdie at 735 Bidwell Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Robert M T Purdie there as the householder, a mechanic at Otis-Fenson Elevator. In 1940 the directory lists Miss A J G Purdie at 2570 Hemlock Street. The 1940 name section lists Anna J G Purdie there as the householder, a school teacher.

In 1940 the directory lists C A Purdie, a roofer, at 2521 Triumph Street; 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 Cecil A Purdie there, a roofer. The 1940 name section lists Gordon K Purdie at 1484 West 10th Avenue as the householder, a clerk at Canada Perm Mortgage, with Margaret Purdie, widow of R P.

Today

2570 Hemlock still has its building from before 1946, dated 1925 by the City's record; 2521 Triumph (2008) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1484 West 10th, so that building is probably gone (inferred); for 735 Bidwell, its page says what we could and couldn't match to today's buildings.

Every line as printed

All 8 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 Purdies

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Purdie 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.