Vancouver / Names / W / Williams / East Cordova Street

A family name on East Cordova Street, Strathcona and Downtown

The Williamses

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Williams at five addresses in 1940, all on East Cordova Street, with the close spelling Willams. 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 186 other streets too, all listed on the Williams 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 Williamses 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

    52 East Cordova Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Henry Williams, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Pumps & Power (whse) at 48 and Van Shirt & Overall Mfg at 54. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    56 East Cordova Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • George Williams, a logger 1940

    Next door in 1940: Van Shirt & Overall Mfg at 54 and Kloepfer Hdw Whol at 62. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    206 East Cordova Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • J W Williams, a fisherman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Van Police Station at 236. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    217 East Cordova Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Dai Williams, a longshoreman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Daily News Continental at 213 and Versatile Shoe Re-Nu at 219. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    938 East Cordova Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • B Williams 1940

    Next door in 1940: T Magri at 932 and Guthrie Balfour’s warehouse at 968. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a fisherman, a logger and a longshoreman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Strathcona (3) and Downtown (2). 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 Henry Williams at 52 East Cordova Street, retired. The 1940 name section lists George Williams at 56 East Cordova Street, a logger. In 1940 the directory lists J W Williams at 206 East Cordova Street. The 1940 name section lists Joseph W Williams there as the householder, a fisherman.

The 1940 name section lists Dai Williams at 217 East Cordova Street, a longshoreman. B Williams is listed at 938 East Cordova Street in 1940.

Today

The City no longer lists 52 East Cordova, 56 East Cordova, 206 East Cordova, 217 East Cordova and 938 East Cordova, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

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, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Williamses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Williams 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.