Vancouver / Names / S / Strain

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Strains

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at seven addresses

The directories print ten people named Strain at seven 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: three Strains at 1080 East 21st 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 Strains 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

    1080 East 21st Avenue

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • T Strain, a fitter at the Burrard Dry Dock 1940
    • Flora Strain 1940
    • Robert Strain, a pourer at Murray Co 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Taylor at 1056 and M M Campbell at 1090. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    628 East 51st Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • Harold G Strain, a washer at Peerless Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Zindler at 636. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    330 East 7th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • C T Strain, a sign hanger at Neon Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: T Bowyer at 322 and P McMartin at 336. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    919 East Broadway

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • D A Strain, a driver at Dustbane Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: W P McKee at 909 and T Addie at 929. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3221 East Broadway

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • F H Strain, a carpenter 1940

    Next door in 1940: O S Quigley at 3211 and J W Kelday at 3231. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1856 West 8th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Strain 1940

    Next door in 1940: C W Prince at 1846 and Mrs S Kameda at 1864. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    1250 West King Edward Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • R Strain, a manager at Dominion Rustproofing 1940
    • Doug H Strain, a clerk at H R MacMillan Export 1940

    Next door in 1940: G A Potter at 1260. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for eight of the ten: a carpenter, a clerk, a driver, a fitter, a manager and a pourer, among others.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Mount Pleasant (2), Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Kitsilano, Shaughnessy and Sunset. 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 T Strain at 1080 East 21st 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 Thomas Strain there as the householder, a fitter at the Burrard Dry Dock, with Flora Strain, and Robert Strain, a pourer at Murray Co. The 1940 name section lists Harold G Strain at 628 East 51st Avenue, a washer at Peerless Laundry.

C T Strain is listed at 330 East 7th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Cyril T Strain there as the householder, a sign hanger at Neon Products. D A Strain is listed at 919 East Broadway in 1940. The 1940 name section lists D Archibald Strain there as the householder, a driver at Dustbane Products.

F H Strain is listed at 3221 East Broadway in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Francis H Strain there as the householder, a carpenter. The 1940 name section lists Strain at 1856 West 8th Avenue.

In 1940 the directory lists R Strain at 1250 West King Edward Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Robert Strain there as the householder, a manager at R Strain & Co, with Robert E Strain, a manager at Dominion Rustproofing, and Doug H Strain, a clerk at H R MacMillan Export.

Today

919 East Broadway, 3221 East Broadway and 1250 West King Edward still have their buildings from before 1946; 1080 East 21st (1995), 628 East 51st (1997) and 330 East 7th (1977) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1856 West 8th, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 16 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 Strains

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Strain 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.