Vancouver / Names / T / Tonkin

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Tonkins

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Tonkin at four addresses in 1940 in three 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 Tonkins 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

    5843 Olympic Street

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • Elizabeth Tonkin, widow of J 1940

    Next door in 1940: K B Finn at 5831 and H J C Terry at 5887. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1065 West 11th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Gladys Tonkin, a nurse 1940

    Next door in 1940: H M Dey at 1055 and A B Ward at 1075. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    848 West 63rd Avenue

    Marpole, 1940

    • J S Tonkin, a master mariner 1940
    • William S Tonkin, a mechanic at Underwood Elliott Fisher 1940

    Next door in 1940: C H Collins at 836 and Mrs S C Campbell at 860. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1455 West 8th Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • George Tonkin, a foreman at Consumers Tires 1940

    Next door in 1940: Gowen Sutton Co Ltd at 1445 and S McMaster at 1495. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the five: a foreman, a master mariner, a mechanic and a nurse. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2), Dunbar-Southlands and Marpole. 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 Elizabeth Tonkin at 5843 Olympic Street, widow of J. The 1940 name section lists Gladys Tonkin at 1065 West 11th Avenue, a nurse. In 1940 the directory lists J S Tonkin at 848 West 63rd 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 John S Tonkin there as the householder, a master mariner, with William S Tonkin, a mechanic at Underwood Elliott Fisher.

The 1940 name section lists George Tonkin at 1455 West 8th Avenue, a foreman at Consumers Tires.

Today

5843 Olympic and 1455 West 8th still have their buildings from before 1946, 1455 West 8th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1065 West 11th (1960) and 848 West 63rd (1972) have newer buildings, by the City's record.

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 Tonkins

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Tonkin 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.