A family name on West Hastings Street, Downtown
The Watsons
In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses
The directories print five people named Watson at five addresses in 1940, all on West Hastings Street. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 145 other streets too, all listed on the Watson name's own page.
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 Watsons lived
- 1
106 West Hastings Street
Downtown, 1940
- William Watson 1940
Next door in 1940: Brown Bros & Co at 104 and Dale's Roast Chickens at 108. The block, door by door
- 2
207 West Hastings Street
Downtown, 1940
- J Y Watson, a manufacturers agent 1940
Next door in 1940: Clothes Shops Natl at 217. The block, door by door
- 3
701 West Hastings Street
Downtown, 1940
- Miss C A Watson, a stamp vendor 1940
Next door in 1940: Federal Bldg at 715. The block, door by door
- 4
744 West Hastings Street
Downtown, 1940
- W R Watson, an accountant 1940
Next door in 1940: Tiny's Coffee Shop at 740. The block, door by door
- 5
1147 West Hastings Street
Downtown, 1940
- Mrs Aileen M Watson, a clerk at Spencer's 1940
Next door in 1940: M Montgomery at 1129 and Mrs H Wright at 1151. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for one of the five: a clerk.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Downtown (5). 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 William Watson at 106 West Hastings Street. J Y Watson, a manufacturers agent, is listed at 207 West Hastings Street in 1940. In 1940 the directory lists Miss C A Watson, a stamp vendor, at 701 West Hastings Street. W R Watson, an accountant, is listed at 744 West Hastings Street in 1940.
The 1940 name section lists Mrs Aileen M Watson at 1147 West Hastings Street, a clerk at Spencer's.
Today
106 West Hastings, 207 West Hastings and 744 West Hastings still have their buildings from before 1946, 106 West Hastings on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 701 West Hastings and 1147 West Hastings, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 5 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Watson Wm106 West Hastings, p. 645
- Watson J Y mfrs agt207 West Hastings, p. 77
- Watson Miss C A stamp vendor701 West Hastings, p. 79
- Watson W R acct744 West Hastings, p. 80
- Watson Mrs Aileen M clk Spencers1147 West Hastings, p. 644
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed
The book of the Watsons
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Watson 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.
We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.
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 W. Want a name removed? Tell us.