Vancouver / Names / G / Gillen

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Gillens

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Gillen at four addresses in 1940 in four of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Gillien. 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 Gillens 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

    1053 Douglas Crescent

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • T Gillien 1940

    Next door in 1940: 5 listings at 1023. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2311 East 6th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • S Gillen, a blacksmith 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M McKinnon at 2321. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4416 West 10th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • J L Gillen, a student at UBC 1940
    • Charlotte Gillen, widow of W J 1940

    Next door in 1940: L F Hawley at 4412 and Masonic Hall at 4426. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1828 West 3rd Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • William Gillen, an engineer at Canada Roof Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Lynch at 1802 and F Butcher at 1832. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the five: a blacksmith and an engineer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Grandview-Woodland, Kitsilano, Shaughnessy and West Point Grey. 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 T Gillien at 1053 Douglas Crescent. S Gillen is listed at 2311 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Sam Gillen there as the householder, a blacksmith.

J L Gillen is listed at 4416 West 10th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists James L Gillen there as the householder, a student at UBC, with Charlotte Gillen, widow of W J. The 1940 name section lists William Gillen at 1828 West 3rd Avenue, an engineer at Canada Roof Products.

Today

1053 Douglas Crescent and 2311 East 6th still have their buildings from before 1946; 4416 West 10th (1999) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 1828 West 3rd, so that building is probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 7 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 Gillens

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Gillen 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 G. Want a name removed? Tell us.