Vancouver / Names / S / Smith / Comox Street

A family name on Comox Street, West End

The Smiths

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at five addresses

The directories print eight people named Smith at five addresses in 1940, all on Comox Street. 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 305 other streets too, all listed on the Smith 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 Smiths 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

    1056 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Margaret M Smith, a nurse at the St Pauls Hospital 1940

    Next door in 1940: G P Campbell at 1070. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1325 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Miss H E Smith 1940
    • Helen E Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: J A Lane at 1301 and Mrs C E Gurry at 1335. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1345 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Albert Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: E H Julien at 1337. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1547 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • H M Smith, a director at R Gelletly & Co Ltd 1940
    • Barbara E Smith, a student at UBC 1940

    Next door in 1940: H R Wade at 1529. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1623 Comox Street

    West End, 1940

    • Mrs Elizabeth Smith 1940
    • Stuart Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: E Jones at 1617 and Mrs I Fayle at 1629. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the eight: a director and a nurse.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (5). 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

The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Margaret M Smith at 1056 Comox Street, a nurse at the St Pauls Hospital. Miss H E Smith is listed at 1325 Comox Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Helen E Smith there as the householder. The 1940 name section lists Albert Smith at 1345 Comox Street.

In 1940 the directory lists H M Smith at 1547 Comox Street; 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 lists Hedley M Smith there as the householder, a director at R Gelletly & Co Ltd, with Barbara E Smith, a student at UBC. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Elizabeth Smith at 1623 Comox Street, with Stuart Smith.

Today

1345 Comox (1983) and 1547 Comox (1958) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1056 Comox, 1325 Comox and 1623 Comox, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Comox Street looking east from Denman, lined with cut-back boulevard trees
1925 Comox Street looking east from Denman, lined with cut-back boulevard trees. Not at the house at 1547 Comox: no archive photo of the 1500 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 357-1. Public domain.

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, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Smiths

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Smith 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.