Vancouver / Names / S / Seldon

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Seldons

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at five addresses

The directories print ten people named Seldon 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. The most under one roof: three Seldons at 1354 Matthews 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 Seldons 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

    2554 Cornwall Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • L A Seldon 1940
    • Eileen M Seldon 1940

    Next door in 1940: V G Quinn at 2544 and Mrs M L MacLeod at 2570. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1354 Matthews Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • Dr G E Seldon, a surgeon 1940
    • Janet L Seldon, a student at UBC 1940
    • Ruth McL Seldon, a student at UBC 1940

    Next door in 1940: S J Cook at 1338. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1215 West 15th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • G E Seldon, on active service 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs F M Thompson at 1207 and F M Baker at 1225. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3648 West 2nd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Mrs E D Seldon, widow of T F 1940
    • Elizabeth D Seldon, a stenographer at Jersey Farms 1940
    • George F Seldon, a clerk at BC Plywoods 1940

    Next door in 1940: W S West at 3642 and G L Steeves at 3656. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    925 West Georgia Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • G E Seldon, a surgeon 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lunch Sandwich at 915 and Macdonald's Prescriptions at 929. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the ten: a clerk, an on active service, a stenographer and a surgeon. Two of them worked for UBC. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano (2), Downtown, Fairview and Shaughnessy. 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 L A Seldon at 2554 Cornwall 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 Lindon A Seldon there as the householder, with Eileen M Seldon. In 1940 the directory lists Dr G E Seldon at 1354 Matthews Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists George E Seldon there as the householder, a surgeon, with Janet L Seldon, a student at UBC, and Ruth McL Seldon, a student at UBC.

In 1940 the directory lists G E Seldon at 1215 West 15th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists G Elliott Seldon there as the householder, on active service. In 1940 the directory lists Mrs E D Seldon at 3648 West 2nd Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Ella D Seldon there as the householder, widow of T F, with Elizabeth D Seldon, a stenographer at Jersey Farms, and George F Seldon, a clerk at BC Plywoods.

In 1940 the directory lists G E Seldon, a surgeon, at 925 West Georgia Street.

Today

2554 Cornwall, 1354 Matthews and 3648 West 2nd still have their buildings from before 1946, 2554 Cornwall on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 1215 West 15th and 925 West Georgia, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

A woman and a child in a car on Matthews Avenue
About 1925 A woman and a child in a car on Matthews Avenue. Not at the house at 1354 Matthews: no archive photo of the 1300 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-3545. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 14 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 Seldons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Seldon 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 S. Want a name removed? Tell us.