Vancouver / Names / S / Speirs

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Speirses

In the city directories 1940 · 13 people at six addresses

The directories print 13 people named Speirs at six addresses in 1940 in six of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: six Speirses at 5829 Sophia in 1940.

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 Speirses 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

    851 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • H A Speirs, a salesman at Empire Box 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs C R Purdy at 825 and Rev L Amor at 891. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2840 East 20th Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • John Speirs, a moulder 1940

    Next door in 1940: A MacDonald at 2812 and R W Wardle at 2854. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    5829 Sophia Street

    Sunset, 1940

    • Mrs J Speirs, widow of T A 1940
    • Cora K Speirs 1940
    • James R Speirs 1940
    • Jennie A Speirs 1940
    • Thomas A Speirs 1940
    • Wilfred L Speirs 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs H G Ferguson at 5807 and D MacQueen at 5851. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2726 Victoria Drive

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • G H Speirs, a salesman at the Lillington Millinery Agency 1940
    • Ken Speirs, a secretary-treasurer at the Canadian Mutual Aid Association 1940

    Next door in 1940: A McBryde at 2736. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1795 West 11th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • G W Speirs, a secretary-treasurer at Canadian Mutual Benefit 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs I M Thompson at 1787 and Mrs M F Henderson at 1797. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    4681 West 9th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • A C Speirs, a managing director at Atlas Gold Mines Ltd 1940
    • Anne K Speirs, a stenographer at Bell & Mitchell 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Sims at 4669 and C L Moffat Jr at 4693. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the 13: a salesman (2), a secretary-treasurer (2), a managing director, a moulder and a stenographer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Renfrew-Collingwood, Sunset, West End and West Point Grey. 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 Speirs at 851 Bidwell Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Harold A Speirs there as the householder, a salesman at Empire Box. The 1940 name section lists John Speirs at 2840 East 20th Avenue, a moulder.

Mrs J Speirs is listed at 5829 Sophia Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Jennie Speirs there as the householder, widow of T A, with Cora K Speirs, James R Speirs, Jennie A Speirs, Thomas A Speirs and Wilfred L Speirs. G H Speirs is listed at 2726 Victoria Drive in 1940. The 1940 name section lists George H Speirs there as the householder, a salesman at the Lillington Millinery Agency, with Ken Speirs, a secretary-treasurer at the Canadian Mutual Aid Association.

G W Speirs is listed at 1795 West 11th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists George W Speirs there as the householder, a secretary-treasurer at Canadian Mutual Benefit. A C Speirs is listed at 4681 West 9th 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 Arthur C Speirs there as the householder, a managing director at Atlas Gold Mines Ltd, with Anne K Speirs, a stenographer at Bell & Mitchell.

Today

851 Bidwell and 5829 Sophia still have their buildings from before 1946; 2840 East 20th (2020) and 4681 West 9th (2000) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2726 Victoria Drive and 1795 West 11th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 18 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 Speirses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Speirs 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.