Vancouver / Names / S / Smith / Yew Street

A family name on Yew Street, Kitsilano, Arbutus Ridge and Kerrisdale

The Smiths

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Smith at five addresses in 1940, all on Yew 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

    1719 Yew Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • H A Smith, a superintendent at General Construction 1940
  2. 2

    5361 Yew Street

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • P N Smith, a bookkeeper at the BC Telephone 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Groves at 5333 and A E Henry at 5375. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    5514 Yew Street

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • F Smith, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs G Norton at 5530. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    5863 Yew Street

    Kerrisdale, 1940

    • W G S Smith, a postman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Rev E L Flagg at 5851 and J Pollock at 5875. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    6225 Yew Street

    Kerrisdale, 1940

    • Evelyn Smith, a stenographer 1940

    Next door in 1940: B Gay at 6203 and H W Jacobs at 6257. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the five: a bookkeeper, a postman, a stenographer and a superintendent.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Arbutus Ridge (2), Kerrisdale (2) 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 H A Smith at 1719 Yew Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Harry A Smith there as the householder, a superintendent at General Construction. In 1940 the directory lists P N Smith at 5361 Yew 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 Percy N Smith there as the householder, a bookkeeper at the BC Telephone.

In 1940 the directory lists F Smith at 5514 Yew Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Franklin Smith there as the householder, retired. In 1940 the directory lists W G S Smith at 5863 Yew Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Walter G S Smith there as the householder, a postman.

The 1940 name section lists Evelyn Smith at 6225 Yew Street, a stenographer.

Today

1719 Yew and 6225 Yew still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 5361 Yew, 5514 Yew and 5863 Yew, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Yew Street from 4th Avenue, looking north down the hill to English Bay and Stanley Park
About 1910 Yew Street from 4th Avenue, looking north down the hill to English Bay and Stanley Park. Not at the house at 1719 Yew: no archive photo of the 1700 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 1376-80.43. 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, 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.