Vancouver / Names / S / Spears

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Spearses

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at seven addresses

The directories print eight people named Spears at seven addresses in 1940 in five 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 Spearses lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    735 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • Elsie Spears, a saleswoman 1940

    Next door in 1940: J A Wylie at 773. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    786 Powell Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • John R Spears 1940

    Next door in 1940: B Araki at 762 and Balkan Rooms at 788. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    601 West 16th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • A Spears, a laborer at Tacoma Junk 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E M Slater at 625. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3475 West 34th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • R B Spears, a department manager at Pacific Coast Fire Insurance 1940
    • Dorothy Spears, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: W H Davis at 3457 and L T Price at 3491. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3201 West 4th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Jean Spears, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: J C Knox at 3285. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1960 West 8th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Maria Spears, a helper for Kelly Douglas 1940

    Next door in 1940: R Porter at 1956 and Miss D Kilgour at 1964. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    2486 West 8th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • C Muriel Spears, a secretary at Imperial Oil 1940

    Next door in 1940: J A Riggall at 2478 and Mrs M J Hunt at 2496. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the eight: a department manager, a helper, a laborer, a saleswoman and a secretary.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano (3), Dunbar-Southlands, Fairview, Strathcona and West End. 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 Elsie Spears at 735 Bidwell Street, a saleswoman. The 1940 name section lists John R Spears at 786 Powell Street. In 1940 the directory lists A Spears at 601 West 16th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Albert Spears there as the householder, an engineer, with Albert W Spears, a laborer at Tacoma Junk.

In 1940 the directory lists R B Spears at 3475 West 34th 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 lists Robert B Spears there as the householder, a department manager at Pacific Coast Fire Insurance, with Dorothy Spears, a student. The 1940 name section lists Jean Spears at 3201 West 4th Avenue, a student. The 1940 name section lists Maria Spears at 1960 West 8th Avenue, a helper for Kelly Douglas.

The 1940 name section lists C Muriel Spears at 2486 West 8th Avenue, a secretary at Imperial Oil.

Today

3475 West 34th still has its building from before 1946, dated 1926 by the City's record; 786 Powell (1978) and 601 West 16th (1989) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 3201 West 4th, 1960 West 8th and 2486 West 8th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred); for 735 Bidwell, its page says what we could and couldn't match to today's buildings.

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 Spearses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Spears 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.