Vancouver / Names / W / Wilson / Bidwell Street

A family name on Bidwell Street, West End

The Wilsons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Wilson at four addresses in 1940, all on Bidwell Street, with the close spelling Willson. 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 224 other streets too, all listed on the Wilson 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 Wilsons 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

    774 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • F Wilson, who kept rooms to let 1940

    Next door in 1940: C F Adye at 764 and Mrs E Thring at 778. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    777 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • W Wilson 1940
    • John McB Wilson, a fireman 1940

    Next door in 1940: G E Parry at 775. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    858 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • Amy D Wilson 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs A M Mathers at 850 and Mrs M E Blackmun at 864. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1203 Bidwell Street

    West End, 1940

    • W N Wilson, a sawyer 1940

    Next door in 1940: Maxine Beauty School at 1215. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the five: a fireman and a sawyer.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in West End (4). 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 F Wilson, rooms to let, at 774 Bidwell Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Frank Wilson there, who kept rooms to let. In 1940 the directory lists W Wilson at 777 Bidwell Street. The 1940 name section lists William Wilson there as the householder, with John McB Wilson, a fireman.

The 1940 name section lists Amy D Wilson at 858 Bidwell Street. W N Wilson is listed at 1203 Bidwell Street 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 W Norman Wilson there as the householder, a sawyer.

Today

774 Bidwell (2002) and 777 Bidwell (1997) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 858 Bidwell and 1203 Bidwell, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

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 Wilsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Wilson 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.