Vancouver / Names / W / Wren

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Wrens

In the city directories 1940 · six people at five addresses

The directories print six people named Wren at five addresses in 1940 in four of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Wrenn. 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 Wrens 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

    1602 Adanac Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • M Wren, a helper at the Burrard Dry Dock 1940

    Next door in 1940: W R Rutledge at 1608. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1726 East 6th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • J S Wren, a logger 1940
    • Allister J Wren, a wiper at the CPR 1940

    Next door in 1940: J D Macfarlane at 1724 and Mrs M A Wilson at 1766. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    751 East Georgia Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Mrs Elsie E Wren 1940

    Next door in 1940: S Song at 747 and A Callegari at 757. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    2690 Eton Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • C H Wren, an engineer 1940

    Next door in 1940: J K Cowe at 2686 and P F Foy at 2696. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    767 Kingsway

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • H E Wrenn 1940

    Next door in 1940: Aristocratic Beauty Parlor at 763 and H L Baillie at 777. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the six: an engineer, a helper, a logger and a wiper.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Grandview-Woodland (2), Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington-Cedar Cottage and Strathcona. 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 M Wren at 1602 Adanac Street, a helper at the Burrard Dry Dock. J S Wren is listed at 1726 East 6th Avenue 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 John S Wren there as the householder, a logger, with Allister J Wren, a wiper at the CPR. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Elsie E Wren at 751 East Georgia Street.

In 1940 the directory lists C H Wren at 2690 Eton Street; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Charles H Wren there as the householder, an engineer. In 1940 the directory lists H E Wrenn at 767 Kingsway. The 1940 name section lists Horace E Wrenn there as the householder.

Today

1602 Adanac, 1726 East 6th, 2690 Eton and 767 Kingsway still have their buildings from before 1946, 767 Kingsway on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 751 East Georgia, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 9 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 Wrens

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Wren 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.