Vancouver / Names / B / Britten

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Brittens

In the city directories 1940 · eleven people at five addresses

The directories print eleven people named Britten at five addresses in 1940 in three 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: four Brittens at 1166 West 6th 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 Brittens 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

    2739 Dundas Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • Elizabeth W Britten, widow of H W 1940

    Next door in 1940: A McLeod at 2733 and R Clarke at 2743. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    620 Slocan Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • J F Britten, a messenger at the Bank of Montreal 1940
    • Agnes M Britten 1940
    • Winifred M Britten 1940

    Next door in 1940: G W Barrass at 610 and C Arnett at 624. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    2057 West 3rd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Wallace B Britten, in coal & wood 1940
    • Violet M Britten, a maid 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Talling at 2043 and G F Moul at 2067. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1792 West 4th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • G R Britten 1940

    Next door in 1940: A M Anderson at 1788 and Mrs M Bennett at 1796. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1166 West 6th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • M R Britten 1940
    • Harold M Britten, a delivery 1940
    • Margaret V Britten 1940
    • Stan Britten, a waiter for Aristocratic Hamburgers 1940

    Next door in 1940: L Leary at 1184. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the eleven: a coal, a delivery, a maid, a messenger and a waiter. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2), Hastings-Sunrise (2) and Kitsilano. 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 Elizabeth W Britten at 2739 Dundas Street, widow of H W. J F Britten is listed at 620 Slocan Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists John F Britten there as the householder, a messenger at the Bank of Montreal, with Agnes M Britten and Winifred M Britten. The 1940 name section lists Wallace B Britten at 2057 West 3rd Avenue as the householder, in coal & wood, with Violet M Britten, a maid.

In 1940 the directory lists G R Britten at 1792 West 4th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists George R Britten there as the householder. In 1940 the directory lists M R Britten at 1166 West 6th 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 lists Mark R Britten there as the householder, with Harold M Britten, a delivery, Margaret V Britten, and Stan Britten, a waiter for Aristocratic Hamburgers.

Today

2739 Dundas and 620 Slocan still have their buildings from before 1946, 2739 Dundas on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 2057 West 3rd (1985) and 1166 West 6th (1986) have newer buildings, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1792 West 4th, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 14 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 Brittens

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Britten 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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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 B. Want a name removed? Tell us.