Vancouver / Names / T / Thomas / East 16th Avenue

A family name on East 16th Avenue, Riley Park, Mount Pleasant, Kensington-Cedar Cottage and Renfrew-Collingwood

The Thomases

In the city directories 1940 · five people at three addresses

The directories print five people named Thomas at three addresses in 1940, all on East 16th Avenue, with the close spelling Thoms. 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 126 other streets too, all listed on the Thomas 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 Thomases 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

    135 East 16th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Mrs E Thomas, widow of W J 1940
    • Walter R Thomas, a salesman for A W Carter 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Stewart at 115 and W C Cook at 141. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    219 East 16th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • D Thomas 1940
    • Melvin E Thomas, a pressman at Clarke & Stuart 1940

    Next door in 1940: M C Bolton at 217 and H Haley at 235. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    239 East 16th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • E Thomas, a roofer 1940

    Next door in 1940: Gill (no first name printed) at 237 and D S Murray at 247. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a pressman, a roofer and a salesman. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (3). 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 Mrs E Thomas at 135 East 16th Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Ethel Thomas there, widow of W J, with Walter R Thomas, a salesman for A W Carter. In 1940 the directory lists D Thomas at 219 East 16th 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 Davis Thomas there as the householder, with Melvin E Thomas, a pressman at Clarke & Stuart.

In 1940 the directory lists E Thomas at 239 East 16th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Ernest Thomas there as the householder, a roofer.

Today

239 East 16th (1958) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 135 East 16th and 219 East 16th, 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 Thomases

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Thomas 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 T. Want a name removed? Tell us.