Vancouver / Names / T / Tom

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Toms

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at seven addresses

The directories print eight people named Tom at seven addresses in 1940 in four 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 Toms 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

    1552 East 4th Avenue

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • F L Tom, a logger 1940
    • Lenora E Tom, a saleswoman at Thom's Home Bakery 1940

    Next door in 1940: F G Garbe at 1540 and Mrs A Watkins at 1554. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    504 East Hastings Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Owen Tom, a salesman at International Clothing 1940

    Next door in 1940: West Coast Trading at 502 and R Hoshino at 508. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    873 East Hastings Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Charles J Tom 1940

    Next door in 1940: J S Harding at 869 and Community Centre Ukranian at 875. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    240 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • H J Ho Tom, a manager at Tom Yee Co 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss J Wong at 238 and See Mrs Wong at 246. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3257 Point Grey Road

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Mrs C Tom, widow of G H 1940

    Next door in 1940: F R Humber at 3253 and G E Bower at 3259. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    535 West Georgia Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Creek Placers Tom 1940

    Next door in 1940: Sales Addressograph-Multigraph at 525 and J E Baldwin at 541. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    2140 Yew Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • A B Tom, a shoe repairer 1940

    Next door in 1940: F M Collinge at 2136 and D A McLeod at 2142. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for five of the eight: a logger, a manager, a salesman, a saleswoman and a shoe repairer. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Strathcona (3), Kitsilano (2), Downtown and Grandview-Woodland. 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 F L Tom at 1552 East 4th Avenue. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Frederick L Tom there as the householder, a logger, with Lenora E Tom, a saleswoman at Thom's Home Bakery. The 1940 name section lists Owen Tom at 504 East Hastings Street, a salesman at International Clothing. The 1940 name section lists Charles J Tom at 873 East Hastings Street.

The 1940 name section lists H J Ho Tom at 240 Keefer Street, a manager at Tom Yee Co. Mrs C Tom is listed at 3257 Point Grey Road 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 lists Caroline Tom there as the householder, widow of G H. Creek Placers Tom is listed at 535 West Georgia Street in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists A B Tom, a shoe repairer, at 2140 Yew Street. The 1940 name section lists Alex B Tom there, a shoe repairer.

Today

1552 East 4th, 504 East Hastings and 240 Keefer still have their buildings from before 1946; 3257 Point Grey Road (1998) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 873 East Hastings, 535 West Georgia and 2140 Yew, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 11 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 Toms

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Tom 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.

We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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.