Vancouver / Names / S / Simpson / West 23rd Avenue

A family name on West 23rd Avenue, Dunbar-Southlands, Riley Park, South Cambie and Arbutus Ridge

The Simpsons

In the city directories 1940 · six people at four addresses

The directories print six people named Simpson at four addresses in 1940, all on West 23rd Avenue. 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 119 other streets too, all listed on the Simpson 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 Simpsons 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

    448 West 23rd Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • H H Simpson, a shopman at the Canadian (BC) Telephone 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E F Boswell at 440 and F J Gentleman at 462. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    716 West 23rd Avenue

    South Cambie, 1940

    • A G Simpson, in show cards 1940
    • Kathleen F Simpson, a stenographer at the CPR 1940

    Next door in 1940: W N Clapp at 706 and Mrs S F Wood at 746. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    911 West 23rd Avenue

    South Cambie, 1940

    • Winifred Simpson 1940

    Next door in 1940: C V Gunnlaugson at 901 and Rev W McA Robertson at 915. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3517 West 23rd Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Mrs C Simpson, widow of J 1940
    • Marguerite E Simpson, a stenographer at the CNR 1940

    Next door in 1940: F D Grass at 3511 and P G Fraser at 3523. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the six: a stenographer (2), a shopman and a show cards. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in South Cambie (2), Dunbar-Southlands 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 H H Simpson at 448 West 23rd 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 Hew H Simpson there as the householder, a shopman at the Canadian (BC) Telephone. In 1940 the directory lists A G Simpson at 716 West 23rd Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Archibald G Simpson there as the householder, in show cards, with Kathleen F Simpson, a stenographer at the CPR.

The 1940 name section lists Winifred Simpson at 911 West 23rd Avenue. Mrs C Simpson is listed at 3517 West 23rd Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Cath Simpson there as the householder, widow of J, with Marguerite E Simpson, a stenographer at the CNR.

Today

448 West 23rd, 911 West 23rd and 3517 West 23rd still have their buildings from before 1946; for 716 West 23rd, its page says what we could and couldn't match to today's buildings.

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 Simpsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Simpson 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.