1117 E Pender St

The two-storey Colonial Revival/Gabled Vernacular house at 1117 East Pender Street was built in 1910. It features shingles on the top floor and pediment, and a front gabled roof with a dormer. At some point, the original full-width porch was altered to create additional space for the downstairs floor. In the first half of the twentieth century, the house was predominantly occupied by immigrant families from Europe.

German-born Richard Sauer (about 1860-1944) was the first owner of the house from 1910 until 1919. He was married to the Scottish-born Matilda Morrison. Their son, Clement, was a clerk at Kloepfer Hardware Co.

Between 1920 and 1921, and again in 1924, Albin (or Albian) Schiller lived with his wife Clara at 1117 East Pender Street. He had left Germany to travel from Belgium to Canada on the Montezuma steamship, arriving in Montreal, QC on November 16, 1910. Together they had four children, two of them living at 1117 East Pender Street as well. Their daughter Leona was a student, and their son, Martin, a bookkeeper.

The 1920s at this house were a period of short-term ownership. Thomas Dempster lived here in 1922, Nathan Silver in 1925-1926, C. Evans in 1927-1928, and F. Relkoff in 1930. The house was vacant in 1923 and in 1929. In 1931, the Swedish Axel Osterberg (1876-1948) and his wife Maria Scobie (1873-1944) moved in at 1117 East Pender Street and lived there until 1948. Axel moved to Canada in about 1890, and worked as a longshoreman and later as a fireman. For a period, Edgar and Eileen Osterberg lived together with Axel and Maria.