Vancouver / Names / W / Willows

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Willowses

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at five addresses

The directories print seven people named Willows at five addresses in 1940 in four of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

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 Willowses 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

    1810 East 6th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • J W Willows, a barber 1940
    • Edith M Willows, a dancing teacher 1940

    Next door in 1940: J A Hope at 1808 and Mrs M Griffith at 1816. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2497 East Hastings Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • Vera Willows, widow of E 1940

    Next door in 1940: Cox Family Shoe Store at 2493. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    320 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • J W Willows, a barber 1940

    Next door in 1940: Railway Exp Agcy at 318 and J E Napier at 322. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1460 Nelson Street

    West End, 1940

    • F C Willows, a clerk at the St Regis Hotel 1940
    • Roma D Willows 1940

    Next door in 1940: L W Elgear at 1448. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    2522 William Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • E Willows, a salesman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs R M Breese at 2516 and A Johnson at 2530. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the seven: a barber, a clerk, a dancing teacher and a salesman. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Hastings-Sunrise (2), Downtown, Grandview-Woodland 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 J W Willows at 1810 East 6th Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists James W Willows there as the householder, a barber, with Edith M Willows, a dancing teacher. The 1940 name section lists Vera Willows at 2497 East Hastings Street, widow of E. J W Willows, a barber, is listed at 320 Granville Street in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists F C Willows at 1460 Nelson Street. The 1940 name section lists Fred C Willows there as the householder, a clerk at the St Regis Hotel, with Roma D Willows. In 1940 the directory lists E Willows at 2522 William Street; 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 Edward Willows there as the householder, a salesman.

Today

1460 Nelson still has its building from before 1946, dated 1910 by the City's record and on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1810 East 6th (1993), 320 Granville (2020) and 2522 William (1996) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2497 East Hastings, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 10 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 Willowses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Willows 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.