Vancouver / Names / W / Willis / West Broadway

A family name on West Broadway, Fairview, Mount Pleasant, Kitsilano and West Point Grey

The Willises

In the city directories 1940 · five people at two addresses

The directories print five people named Willis at two addresses in 1940, all on West Broadway. 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: four Willises at 3050 West Broadway in 1940. The directories print the name on 36 other streets too, all listed on the Willis 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 Willises 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

    944 West Broadway

    Fairview, 1940

    • Francis Willis, who worked for Nelsons Laundries 1940

    Next door in 1940: broadway lodge at 934 and R H Tweedy at 952. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3050 West Broadway

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Mrs F M Willis 1940
    • Alex E Willis, a clerk 1940
    • Gwen F Willis, a student 1940
    • Howard B Willis 1940

    Next door in 1940: Minto Shoe Reprs at 3060. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the five: a clerk and an employee.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview and Kitsilano. 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 Francis Willis at 944 West Broadway, who worked for Nelsons Laundries. Mrs F M Willis is listed at 3050 West Broadway in 1940; 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 Mrs Florence M Willis there as the householder, with Alex E Willis, a clerk, Gwen F Willis, a student, and Howard B Willis.

Today

The City no longer lists 944 West Broadway and 3050 West Broadway, 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 Willises

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Willis 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.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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.