Vancouver / Names / O / On

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Ons

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at five addresses

The directories print eight people named On at five addresses in 1940 in two of the city's neighbourhoods. 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 Ons 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

    415 East Georgia Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Wah Fong On 1940
    • Lee Wah Fong On 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lun Tong Fong at 411 and M Miran at 421. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    177 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Lee On 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Johnson at 175 and Pool Room Hastings at 179. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    145 East Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Luck Yuen On, a restaurant 1940
    • Lee Luck Yuen On, who ran a restaurant 1940

    Next door in 1940: Shar Doey Mutual Soc at 143 and Tai Shing at 147. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    800 Jackson Avenue

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Lee Lila On 1940

    Next door in 1940: “Orientals” at 814. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    11 West Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Wo Tong On, in herbs 1940
    • Lee Wo Tong On 1940

    Next door in 1940: Kee Mon at 9 and “Orientals” at 13. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for one of the eight: a restaurant.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (3) and Strathcona (2). 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 Wah Fong On at 415 East Georgia 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Lee Wah Fong On there as the householder. The 1940 name section lists Lee On at 177 East Hastings Street.

Luck Yuen On, a restaurant, is listed at 145 East Pender Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Lee Luck Yuen On there, who ran a restaurant. The 1940 name section lists Lee Lila On at 800 Jackson Avenue.

In 1940 the directory lists Wo Tong On, in herbs, at 11 West Pender Street. The 1940 name section lists Lee Wo Tong On there.

Today

177 East Hastings, 800 Jackson and 11 West Pender still have their buildings from before 1946, 800 Jackson on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 415 East Georgia and 145 East Pender, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 8 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 Ons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the On 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 O. Want a name removed? Tell us.