Vancouver / Names / S / Sweetnam

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Sweetnams

In the city directories 1940 · four people at two addresses

The directories print four people named Sweetnam at two addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Swetnam. No first name or initials tie one address to the other: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: three Sweetnams at 2746 West 37th 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 Sweetnams 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

    3037 West 27th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • W J Swetnam, a chief accountant 1940

    Next door in 1940: J H McHugh at 3021 and C W Deans at 3049. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2746 West 37th Avenue

    Arbutus Ridge, 1940

    • Mrs V P Sweetnam, widow of W V 1940
    • Allan G Sweetnam, a student at UBC 1940
    • Patience E Sweetnam, a school teacher 1940

    Next door in 1940: E H Philps at 2736 and R C Hawkes at 2756. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the four: a chief accountant and a school teacher. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Arbutus Ridge and Dunbar-Southlands. 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 W J Swetnam at 3037 West 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 William J Swetnam there as the householder, a chief accountant. In 1940 the directory lists Mrs V P Sweetnam at 2746 West 37th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Vera P Sweetnam there as the householder, widow of W V, with Allan G Sweetnam, a student at UBC, and Patience E Sweetnam, a school teacher.

Today

3037 West 27th (1990) and 2746 West 37th (2013) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

Every line as printed

All 6 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 Sweetnams

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Sweetnam 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.