Vancouver / Names / W / Wilson / Charles Street

A family name on Charles Street, Grandview-Woodland, Strathcona and Hastings-Sunrise

The Wilsons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at three addresses

The directories print five people named Wilson at three addresses in 1940, all on Charles 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

    1708 Charles Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • D Wilson 1940
    • Stewart L Wilson, a warehouseman at Kelly-Douglas 1940

    Next door in 1940: K Nakanishi at 1704 and J Peters at 1716. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    3058 Charles Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • A G Wilson, a carpenter 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Petersen at 3054 and C Purmal at 3086. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    3251 Charles Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • A Wilson, a foreman at the City of Vancouver 1940
    • Robert O Wilson, a driver 1940

    Next door in 1940: L T Johnson at 3249 and Mrs A Ogilvie at 3255. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the five: a carpenter, a driver, a foreman and a warehouseman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Hastings-Sunrise (2) and Grandview-Woodland. 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 D Wilson at 1708 Charles Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists David Wilson there as the householder, with Stewart L Wilson, a warehouseman at Kelly-Douglas. In 1940 the directory lists A G Wilson at 3058 Charles 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 Alex G Wilson there as the householder, a carpenter.

In 1940 the directory lists A Wilson at 3251 Charles Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Alex Wilson there as the householder, a foreman at the City of Vancouver, with Robert O Wilson, a driver.

Today

1708 Charles and 3058 Charles still have their buildings from before 1946; 3251 Charles (2000) has a newer building, by the City's record.

Firefighters with their horse-drawn wagons in front of Firehall No. 9 at Salsbury Drive and Charles Street
About 1910 Firefighters with their horse-drawn wagons in front of Firehall No. 9 at Salsbury Drive and Charles Street. Not at the house at 1708 Charles: no archive photo of the 1700 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 354-335. Public domain.

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.