Vancouver / Names / R / Risby

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Risbys

In the city directories 1940 · four people at four addresses

The directories print four people named Risby 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 Risbys 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

    1184 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • S Risby, a shoe shine 1940

    Next door in 1940: P Smith at 1182 and C P Communications at 1190. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    451 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Mrs H Risby, in eggs poultry 1940

    Next door in 1940: Library Annex Van Pub at 431. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    558 Pacific Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Sylvester Risby, a shoe shine 1940

    Next door in 1940: Estates Capital at 550. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1432 West 46th Avenue

    Oakridge, 1940

    • Gladys Risby, a maid for J Bennett 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs F R Beck at 1420 and M Fouks at 1444. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the four: a maid and a shoe shine.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (2), Oakridge and Strathcona. 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 S Risby, a shoe shine, at 1184 Granville Street. Mrs H Risby, in eggs poultry, is listed at 451 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Sylvester Risby at 558 Pacific Street, a shoe shine. The 1940 name section lists Gladys Risby at 1432 West 46th Avenue, a maid for J Bennett.

Today

The City no longer lists 1184 Granville, 451 Main, 558 Pacific and 1432 West 46th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Riders in uniform lead a parade along Granville Street, past crowds on the sidewalk
1917 Riders in uniform lead a parade along Granville Street, past crowds on the sidewalk. Not at the house at 1184 Granville: no archive photo of the 1100 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-350. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 4 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 Risbys

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Risby 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.

We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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.