Vancouver / Names / S / Shears

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Shearses

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at five addresses

The directories print nine people named Shears at five addresses in 1940 in five 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 Shearses at 1416 Odlum Drive 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 Shearses 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

    543 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • C N Shears, a manufacturers agent 1940

    Next door in 1940: Leather Gds Burns at 541 and L C Fraser at 545. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1416 Odlum Drive

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • R J Shears 1940
    • Cecil D Shears, a delivery at BC Stevens Co 1940
    • Florence C Shears, who worked for Kelly Douglas 1940

    Next door in 1940: R W Beach at 1410. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1310 West 13th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • C N Shears, a manufacturers agent 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E Evans at 1336. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    208 West 19th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • W G Shears, a president at Shears & Co 1940
    • Ruth A Shears, a stenographer at Shears & Co 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs H E Boucher at 228. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    5333 Yew Street

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • Helen M B Shears, a school teacher 1940
    • Margaret J Shears, widow of J 1940

    Next door in 1940: P N Smith at 5361. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the nine: a delivery, an employee, a manufacturers agent, a president, a school teacher and a stenographer. Two of them worked for Shears & Co. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Arbutus Ridge, Downtown, Fairview, Grandview-Woodland and Riley Park. 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 C N Shears, a manufacturers agent, at 543 Granville Street. R J Shears is listed at 1416 Odlum Drive in 1940. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Richard J Shears there as the householder, with Cecil D Shears, a delivery at BC Stevens Co, and Florence C Shears, who worked for Kelly Douglas.

C N Shears is listed at 1310 West 13th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists C Norman Shears there as the householder, a manufacturers agent. W G Shears is listed at 208 West 19th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Walter G Shears there as the householder, a president at Shears & Co, with Ruth A Shears, a stenographer at Shears & Co.

The 1940 name section lists Helen M B Shears at 5333 Yew Street, a school teacher, with Margaret J Shears, widow of J.

Today

1310 West 13th and 208 West 19th still have their buildings from before 1946, 1310 West 13th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 543 Granville (1995) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1416 Odlum Drive and 5333 Yew, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 12 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 Shearses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Shears 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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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.