Vancouver / Names / R / Rainford

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Rainfords

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at six addresses

The directories print seven people named Rainford at six 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 Rainfords 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

    418 Abbott Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • William T Rainford, of Lorenz Bros 1940

    Next door in 1940: C A Powers at 404 and Abbott Conf at 420. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2362 Brock Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • T Rainford, a shoe repairer 1940
    • Annie Rainford, a laundress at Nelsons Laundries 1940
  3. 3

    852 Cambie Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • George S Rainford, a traveller 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lowney W M Co Ltd at 854. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1003 East 58th Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • William Rainford, a swamper at the City of Vancouver 1940

    Next door in 1940: D Rees at 1021. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    2503 Kingsway

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • T Rainford, a shoe repairer 1940

    Next door in 1940: B & K Econ Stores at 2501 and W H Kidd at 2505. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    915 West Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Syd P Rainford, a director at General Construction 1940

    Next door in 1940: Thompson & Graham at 901 and R S P Carruthers at 927. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the seven: a director, a laundress, a shoe repairer, a swamper and a traveller.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (3), Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Renfrew-Collingwood and Sunset. 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 William T Rainford at 418 Abbott Street, of Lorenz Bros. T Rainford is listed at 2362 Brock Street 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 Thomas Rainford there as the householder, a shoe repairer, with Annie Rainford, a laundress at Nelsons Laundries. The 1940 name section lists George S Rainford at 852 Cambie Street, a traveller.

The 1940 name section lists William Rainford at 1003 East 58th Avenue, a swamper at the City of Vancouver. T Rainford, a shoe repairer, is listed at 2503 Kingsway in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Syd P Rainford at 915 West Hastings Street, a director at General Construction.

Today

2362 Brock and 915 West Hastings still have their buildings from before 1946, 915 West Hastings on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 2503 Kingsway (1972) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 418 Abbott, 852 Cambie and 1003 East 58th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

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, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Rainfords

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Rainford 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 R. Want a name removed? Tell us.