Vancouver / Names / R / Robertson / Main Street

A family name on Main Street, Riley Park, Strathcona, Downtown, Mount Pleasant and Sunset

The Robertsons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Robertson at five addresses in 1940, all on Main Street. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 150 other streets too, all listed on the Robertson name's own page.

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 Robertsons 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

    451 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Mrs J Robertson 1940

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

  2. 2

    1815 Main Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Hilda Robertson, widow of J W 1940

    Next door in 1940: C Probis at 1805 and Miss B Knight at 1821. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3716 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • J C Robertson, a barber at Brail's Central Barber Shop 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Whitehouse at 3742. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3741 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • John Robertson, an assistant for G Vanstone 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Sloan at 3715 and A A Andren at 3743. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    4160 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • J T Robertson, in meats 1940

    Next door in 1940: Main St Cycle Store at 4158 and A H Bennett at 4162. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the five: an assistant and a barber. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (3), Mount Pleasant 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 Mrs J Robertson at 451 Main Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Hilda Robertson at 1815 Main Street, widow of J W. In 1940 the directory lists J C Robertson at 3716 Main Street. The 1940 name section lists James C Robertson there as the householder, a barber at Brail's Central Barber Shop.

The 1940 name section lists John Robertson at 3741 Main Street, an assistant for G Vanstone. J T Robertson, in meats, is listed at 4160 Main Street in 1940.

Today

3741 Main still has its building from before 1946, dated 1912 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 451 Main, 1815 Main, 3716 Main and 4160 Main, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Streetcars on Main Street, past a row of billboards
March 1940 Streetcars on Main Street, past a row of billboards. Not at the house at 3716 Main: no archive photo of the 3700 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 136-513. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 6 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 Robertsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Robertson 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.