Vancouver / Names / S / Smith / Dunbar Street

A family name on Dunbar Street, Dunbar-Southlands and Kitsilano

The Smiths

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at six addresses

The directories print nine people named Smith at six addresses in 1940, all on Dunbar Street. 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 Smiths at 5337 Dunbar in 1940. 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

    4692 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • A M Smith, a shipwright at Boeings 1940
    • Annie Smith, widow of A B 1940

    Next door in 1940: D H Taylor at 4676. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    4908 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • William Smith, a laborer 1940

    Next door in 1940: O T Wyatt at 4958. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    5211 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Ethel M Smith, a stenographer at Canadian Westinghouse 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs J F McCashin at 5237. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    5337 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • F W Smith, a movie operator at the Kerrisdale Theatre 1940
    • Blanche A Smith 1940
    • Olga Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: T E Brett at 5349. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    5621 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Grace Smith, a housekeeper for L Preddice 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs F McKay at 5619 and W E Law at 5629. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    5791 Dunbar Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • S E Smith, a salesman at the Canadian General Electric 1940

    Next door in 1940: C H Clark at 5779. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the nine: a housekeeper, a laborer, a movie operator, a salesman, a shipwright and a stenographer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Dunbar-Southlands (6). 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 A M Smith at 4692 Dunbar 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Alex M Smith there as the householder, a shipwright at Boeings, with Annie Smith, widow of A B. The 1940 name section lists William Smith at 4908 Dunbar Street, a laborer. The 1940 name section lists Ethel M Smith at 5211 Dunbar Street, a stenographer at Canadian Westinghouse.

In 1940 the directory lists F W Smith at 5337 Dunbar Street. The 1940 name section lists Frank W Smith there as the householder, a movie operator at the Kerrisdale Theatre, with Blanche A Smith and Olga Smith. The 1940 name section lists Grace Smith at 5621 Dunbar Street, a housekeeper for L Preddice.

S E Smith is listed at 5791 Dunbar Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Sid E H Smith there as the householder, a salesman at the Canadian General Electric.

Today

5337 Dunbar and 5791 Dunbar still have their buildings from before 1946; 4908 Dunbar (1977), 5211 Dunbar (1984) and 5621 Dunbar (2005) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 4692 Dunbar, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

A No. 14 Dunbar streetcar on Dunbar Street, past bungalows
1940 A No. 14 Dunbar streetcar on Dunbar Street, past bungalows. Not at the house at 5337 Dunbar: no archive photo of the 5300 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, 2009-005.530. Public domain.

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 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.