Vancouver / Names / S / Spray

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Sprays

In the city directories 1940 · six people at five addresses

The directories print six people named Spray at five addresses in 1940 in five of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Spry. 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 Sprays 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

    2628 East 27th Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • H Spray, retired 1940
  2. 2

    2340 Victoria Drive

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • F C Spray, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: M Wosk at 2314 and A N MacRitchie at 2380. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3772 West 22nd Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • L R Spray, a sign painter 1940

    Next door in 1940: F Saunders at 3750 and J A Davidson at 3782. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1379 West 46th Avenue

    Oakridge, 1940

    • R J Spry, a consulting engineer 1940
    • Russell F Spry, a student 1940

    Next door in 1940: C F Fader at 1367 and L L Curtis at 1391. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    675 West Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • R J Spry, a consulting engineer 1940

    Next door in 1940: P Miller at 623 and Bank Royal at 685. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the six: a consulting engineer and a sign painter.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Dunbar-Southlands, Grandview-Woodland, Oakridge and Renfrew-Collingwood. 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 Spray at 2628 East 27th 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Herbert Spray there as the householder, retired. In 1940 the directory lists F C Spray at 2340 Victoria Drive; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Frederick C Spray there as the householder, retired.

In 1940 the directory lists L R Spray at 3772 West 22nd Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Lyman R Spray there as the householder, a sign painter. In 1940 the directory lists R J Spry at 1379 West 46th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Russell J Spry there as the householder, a consulting engineer, with Russell F Spry, a student.

In 1940 the directory lists R J Spry, a consulting engineer, at 675 West Hastings Street.

Today

2340 Victoria Drive and 675 West Hastings still have their buildings from before 1946; 2628 East 27th (1992), 3772 West 22nd (1987) and 1379 West 46th (2015) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

Every line as printed

All 10 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 Sprays

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Spray 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.