Vancouver / Names / S / Sowerby

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Sowerbys

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at six addresses

The directories print eight people named Sowerby at six addresses in 1940 in four 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 Sowerbys 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

    134 Powell Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • A Sowerby 1940

    Next door in 1940: W G Humphrey at 132 and Mrs H Omae at 136. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3566 West 11th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • N Sowerby, a supervisor 1940

    Next door in 1940: J P Miller at 3558 and L G Knight at 3574. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1346 West 12th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • W D Sowerby, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: E C Lattin at 1336 and W T Tupper at 1356. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3637 West 12th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • W Sowerby, retired 1940
    • Evelyn Sowerby 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs G Barrett at 3627 and A A Dunn at 3641. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    942 West 15th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Miss M B Sowerby 1940
    • Mina B Sowerby 1940

    Next door in 1940: C H McDonald at 940 and Mrs M P Glover at 944. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    2816 West 37th Avenue

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • William E Sowerby, a log scaler 1940

    Next door in 1940: S A Anfield at 2822. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the eight: a log scaler and a supervisor.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2), Kitsilano (2), Arbutus Ridge and Downtown. 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 A Sowerby at 134 Powell Street. N Sowerby is listed at 3566 West 11th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Norman Sowerby there as the householder, a supervisor.

W D Sowerby is listed at 1346 West 12th Avenue in 1940; 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 William D Sowerby there as the householder, retired. W Sowerby is listed at 3637 West 12th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Walter Sowerby there as the householder, retired, with Evelyn Sowerby.

Miss M B Sowerby is listed at 942 West 15th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Mina B Sowerby there as the householder. The 1940 name section lists William E Sowerby at 2816 West 37th Avenue, a log scaler.

Today

134 Powell, 3566 West 11th, 3637 West 12th, 942 West 15th and 2816 West 37th still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 1346 West 12th, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 11 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 Sowerbys

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Sowerby 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.