Vancouver / Names / S / Simpkin

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Simpkins

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Simpkin 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.

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 Simpkins 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

    3232 East 47th Avenue

    Killarney, 1940

    • J Simpkin, a longshoreman 1940

    Next door in 1940: W McManus at 3220 and Mrs S Hagstrom at 3240. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1060 Melville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • George Simpkin, a cook 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss A R Mayne at 1054 and Mrs M Sommerville at 1070. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1962 Turner Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • William Simpkin, a cabinet maker 1940

    Next door in 1940: W J McGill at 1950 and Mrs K M Griffin at 1968. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2922 West 38th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • W L Simpkin, proprietor of Heard, The Truss Man 1940

    Next door in 1940: W G Lindsay at 2914 and H A E Browne at 2930. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1728 Yew Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • W Simpkin, retired 1940

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the five: a cabinet maker, a cook, a longshoreman and a proprietor.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Dunbar-Southlands, Grandview-Woodland, Killarney and Kitsilano. 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 J Simpkin at 3232 East 47th 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 John Simpkin there as the householder, a longshoreman. The 1940 name section lists George Simpkin at 1060 Melville Street, a cook. The 1940 name section lists William Simpkin at 1962 Turner Street, a cabinet maker.

In 1940 the directory lists W L Simpkin at 2922 West 38th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists William L Simpkin there as the householder, proprietor of Heard, The Truss Man. In 1940 the directory lists W Simpkin at 1728 Yew Street. The 1940 name section lists William Simpkin there as the householder, retired.

Today

1962 Turner and 1728 Yew still have their buildings from before 1946, 1962 Turner on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 3232 East 47th, 1060 Melville and 2922 West 38th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 8 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 Simpkins

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Simpkin 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.