Vancouver / Names / R / Riddle

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Riddles

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Riddle at five 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 Riddles 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

    873 Cambie Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • William Riddle 1940

    Next door in 1940: E Van Buren at 867 and Mrs K Beck at 877. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    4763 Drummond Drive

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • E F Riddle, a manager at Canada Shipping 1940

    Next door in 1940: J G Gibson at 4751 and V W Haywood at 4765. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3480 East 24th Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • A W Riddle, a shoe repairer 1940

    Next door in 1940: W Whalvin at 3446. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4293 Slocan Street

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • A W Riddle, a shoe repairer 1940

    Next door in 1940: W H Barriball at 4289 and H M Keely at 4295. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    532 Windermere Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • A Riddle, a draftsman at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: J G Kirkpatrick at 544. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a draftsman, a manager and a shoe repairer.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Renfrew-Collingwood (2), Downtown, Hastings-Sunrise and West Point Grey. 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 Riddle at 873 Cambie Street. E F Riddle is listed at 4763 Drummond Drive 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 Ernest F Riddle there as the householder, a manager at Canada Shipping.

A W Riddle is listed at 3480 East 24th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Arthur W Riddle there as the householder, a shoe repairer. A W Riddle, a shoe repairer, is listed at 4293 Slocan Street in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists A Riddle at 532 Windermere Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Alex Riddle there as the householder, a draftsman at the BC Electric Railway.

Today

4763 Drummond Drive still has its building from before 1946, dated 1937 by the City's record; 3480 East 24th (1984), 4293 Slocan (1958) and 532 Windermere (2014) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 873 Cambie, so that building is 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 Riddles

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Riddle 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.