Vancouver / Names / W / Whitlam

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Whitlams

In the city directories 1940 · four people at two addresses

The directories print four people named Whitlam at two addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. 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 Whitlams at 1643 Barclay 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 Whitlams 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

    1643 Barclay Street

    West End, 1940

    • E O Whitlam, an insurance agent 1940
    • John E Whitlam 1940
    • Thelma I Whitlam, a nurse 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M S Burton at 1635 and St Helier at 1649. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    826 Smithe Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • F Whitlam, an accountant 1940

    Next door in 1940: Quick Cleaners at 818 and 5 listings at 838. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the four: an accountant, an insurance agent and a nurse.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown and West End. 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 E O Whitlam at 1643 Barclay Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Edgerton O Whitlam there as the householder, an insurance agent, with John E Whitlam, and Thelma I Whitlam, a nurse. In 1940 the directory lists F Whitlam at 826 Smithe Street. The 1940 name section lists Frederick Whitlam there as the householder, an accountant.

Today

The City no longer lists 1643 Barclay and 826 Smithe, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

The Sutherland wedding party with their flowers at 1901 Barclay Street
9 September 1932 The Sutherland wedding party with their flowers at 1901 Barclay Street. Not at the house at 1643 Barclay: no archive photo of the 1600 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-4256. Public domain.

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 Whitlams

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Whitlam 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 W. Want a name removed? Tell us.