Vancouver / Names / A / Auton

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Autons

In the city directories 1940 · 13 people at seven addresses

The directories print 13 people named Auton at seven addresses in 1940 in five of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: five Autons at 120 East 26th in 1940.

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 Autons lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    633 Commercial Drive

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • J W Auton 1940

    Next door in 1940: A M Macdonald at 631 and Little Theatre Conf at 635. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    120 East 26th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • H Auton, a clerk at Granville Bros 1940
    • Eileen A Auton, a supervisor at the BC Telephone 1940
    • Florence L Auton, a saleswoman at Woodward's 1940
    • Kathleen D Auton, a bookkeeper for Gutta Percha 1940
    • Phyllis M Auton, an operator at the BC Telephone 1940

    Next door in 1940: I H Zess at 112. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2470 East 29th Avenue

    Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940

    • J Auton, who worked for the Vancouver Parks Board 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M E Sullivan at 2456 and R Macintosh at 2482. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    291 East 32nd Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Mrs E Auton, widow of J 1940
    • Edward Auton, a bookkeeper at Western Wholesale Florists 1940
    • Jabez Auton, a clerk at BC Pen 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E Bower at 283 and R T Bowyer at 295. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1605 East 6th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • T H Auton, a machinist at the Province 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M Wilton at 1611. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    2568 East 6th Avenue

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • G Auton, a salesman at Mackenzie White & Dunsmuir 1940

    Next door in 1940: G Leer at 2558 and I Anderson at 2572. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    1898 Robson Street

    West End, 1940

    • Margaret J Auton, a maid for Mrs L E Atkins 1940

    Next door in 1940: 9 listings at 1860. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for eleven of the 13: a bookkeeper (2), a clerk (2), an employee, a machinist, a maid and an operator, among others. Two of them worked for BC Telephone. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Grandview-Woodland (2), Riley Park (2), Hastings-Sunrise, Renfrew-Collingwood and West End. 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 J W Auton at 633 Commercial Drive. H Auton is listed at 120 East 26th 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Henry Auton there as the householder, an engineer at Granville Bros, with Hetty I Auton, a clerk at Granville Bros, Eileen A Auton, a supervisor at the BC Telephone, Florence L Auton, a saleswoman at Woodward's, Kathleen D Auton, a bookkeeper for Gutta Percha, and Phyllis M Auton, an operator at the BC Telephone.

J Auton is listed at 2470 East 29th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Jabez Auton there as the householder, who worked for the Vancouver Parks Board. Mrs E Auton is listed at 291 East 32nd Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Eliza Auton there as the householder, widow of J, with Edward Auton, a bookkeeper at Western Wholesale Florists, and Jabez Auton, a clerk at BC Pen.

T H Auton is listed at 1605 East 6th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Thomas H Auton there as the householder, a machinist at the Province. G Auton is listed at 2568 East 6th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists George Auton there as the householder, a salesman at Mackenzie White & Dunsmuir.

The 1940 name section lists Margaret J Auton at 1898 Robson Street, a maid for Mrs L E Atkins.

Today

633 Commercial Drive, 120 East 26th, 2470 East 29th, 291 East 32nd and 2568 East 6th still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 1605 East 6th and 1898 Robson, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 19 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 Autons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Auton 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 A. Want a name removed? Tell us.