Vancouver / Names / R / Ruff

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Ruffs

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at three addresses

The directories print seven people named Ruff at three 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. The most under one roof: four Ruffs at 2225 Eton in 1940.

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 Ruffs 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

    779 East 63rd Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • Mrs A Ruff, widow of A H 1940
    • Harold P Ruff, a laborer at H M Sawmill 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E E Russ at 773 and W L Inglis at 791. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2225 Eton Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • S H Ruff, an acting fire captain at the City of Vancouver 1940
    • Cathleen Ruff 1940
    • Cecil G Ruff 1940
    • Russell H Ruff 1940

    Next door in 1940: C Floden at 2241. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4574 West 8th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • J Peter Ruff, an engineer at the St Francis Hotel 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs N M Beeman at 4568 and G S Fox at 4586. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the seven: an acting fire captain, an engineer and a laborer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Grandview-Woodland, Sunset 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

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs A Ruff at 779 East 63rd Avenue; 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Annie Ruff there as the householder, widow of A H, with Harold P Ruff, a laborer at H M Sawmill. In 1940 the directory lists S H Ruff at 2225 Eton Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Sid H Ruff there as the householder, an acting fire captain at the City of Vancouver, with Cathleen Ruff, Cecil G Ruff and Russell H Ruff.

The 1940 name section lists J Peter Ruff at 4574 West 8th Avenue, an engineer at the St Francis Hotel.

Today

4574 West 8th still has its building from before 1946, dated 1915 by the City's record and on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 779 East 63rd (1995) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2225 Eton, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 9 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 Ruffs

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Ruff 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.