Vancouver / Names / D / Dawson / Granville Street

A family name on Granville Street, Downtown, Fairview, Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale, Oakridge and Marpole

The Dawsons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at five addresses

The directories print five people named Dawson at five addresses in 1940, all on Granville Street. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 62 other streets too, all listed on the Dawson name's own page.

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 Dawsons 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

    1046 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Harry H Dawson, a manufacturers agent 1940

    Next door in 1940: Piano House Lewis at 1044 and Balderston Motors (used cars) at 1056. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1125 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Herbert Dawson, a warehouseman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Hemenway & Son at 1123 and L N Gowdy at 1127. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1247 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • C E Dawson, an auctioneer 1940

    Next door in 1940: Harris Paint & Wallpaper at 1245 and Van Auto Wrecking at 1249. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1272 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • C E Dawson, an auctioneer 1940

    Next door in 1940: D Vandt at 1262 and Southard Motor Co at 1280. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    5950 Granville Street

    Kerrisdale, 1940

    • R J Dawson, a manager at the Plaza Theatre 1940

    Next door in 1940: N Abbott at 5930 and B L Haas at 5970. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a manager, a manufacturers agent and a warehouseman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (4) and Kerrisdale. 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 Harry H Dawson at 1046 Granville Street, a manufacturers agent. The 1940 name section lists Herbert Dawson at 1125 Granville Street, a warehouseman. In 1940 the directory lists C E Dawson, an auctioneer, at 1247 Granville Street. C E Dawson, an auctioneer, is listed at 1272 Granville Street in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists R J Dawson at 5950 Granville Street; 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 R John Dawson there as the householder, a manager at the Plaza Theatre.

Today

1046 Granville and 1125 Granville still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 1247 Granville and 1272 Granville, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred); for 5950 Granville, its page says what we could and couldn't match to today's buildings.

Riders in uniform lead a parade along Granville Street, past crowds on the sidewalk
1917 Riders in uniform lead a parade along Granville Street, past crowds on the sidewalk. Not at the house at 5950 Granville: no archive photo of the 5900 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-350. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 6 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 Dawsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Dawson 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 D. Want a name removed? Tell us.