Vancouver / Names / W / Williams / West King Edward Avenue

A family name on West King Edward Avenue, Dunbar-Southlands, Riley Park, South Cambie, Shaughnessy and Arbutus Ridge

The Williamses

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Williams at four addresses in 1940, all on West King Edward Avenue, 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. 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

    65 West King Edward Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • R Williams, a printer at Broadway Printers 1940

    Next door in 1940: T H Martin at 55 and F Plumbly at 75. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3630 West King Edward Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • R Williams, a gardener 1940
    • Everett A Williams, a gardener 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M Desaulniers at 3610 and G N Macdonald at 3640. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3737 West King Edward Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • L W Williams, a secretary-treasurer at Adanac Brokers 1940

    Next door in 1940: F S Pettet at 3727 and M M Salmond at 3749. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3873 West King Edward Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Margaret Williams, widow of G 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs L Ross at 3879. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the five: a gardener (2), a printer and a secretary-treasurer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Dunbar-Southlands (3) and Riley Park. 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 R Williams at 65 West King Edward Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Richard A Williams there as the householder, a printer at Broadway Printers. In 1940 the directory lists R Williams at 3630 West King Edward 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 lists Russia Williams there as the householder, a gardener, with Everett A Williams, a gardener.

In 1940 the directory lists L W Williams at 3737 West King Edward Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Lawrence W Williams there as the householder, a secretary-treasurer at Adanac Brokers. The 1940 name section lists Margaret Williams at 3873 West King Edward Avenue, widow of G.

Today

65 West King Edward and 3873 West King Edward still have their buildings from before 1946; 3630 West King Edward (2010) and 3737 West King Edward (2020) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

Every line as printed

All 8 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 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.