Vancouver / Names / W / Woodruff

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Woodruffs

In the city directories 1940 · four people at four addresses

The directories print four people named Woodruff at four 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 Woodruffs 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

    741 East 62nd Avenue

    Sunset, 1940

    • H Woodruff, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: J E Anderson at 731. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    660 Jackson Avenue

    Strathcona, 1940

    • T Woodruff, a clerk 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Imre at 622. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    520 Richards Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Mrs Emma Woodruff, a maid at the Merritt Gordon Hotel 1940

    Next door in 1940: M G Gordon at 518 and Kingsley Rooms at 522. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3983 West 20th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • N L Woodruff, a clerk at Dominion Bridge 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Southworth at 3973. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the four: a clerk (2) and a maid.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Dunbar-Southlands, Strathcona and Sunset. 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 H Woodruff at 741 East 62nd 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Herbert Woodruff there as the householder, retired. In 1940 the directory lists T Woodruff at 660 Jackson Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Thomas Woodruff there as the householder, a clerk.

The 1940 name section lists Mrs Emma Woodruff at 520 Richards Street, a maid at the Merritt Gordon Hotel. N L Woodruff is listed at 3983 West 20th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Noel L Woodruff there as the householder, a clerk at Dominion Bridge.

Today

660 Jackson still has its building from before 1946, dated 1909 by the City's record and on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 741 East 62nd (2002) and 3983 West 20th (2020) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 520 Richards, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 7 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 Woodruffs

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Woodruff 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.