Vancouver / Names / T / Towns

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Townses

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at seven addresses

The directories print ten people named Towns at seven addresses in 1940 in six of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

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Where the Townses 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

    1101 Burrard Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Irene Towns, a maid at the St Paul's Hospital 1940

    Next door in 1940: C McKillop at 1143. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1235 Hornby Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Mrs Stella Towns, a maid at the St Paul's Hospital 1940

    Next door in 1940: Skinner-Atkins at 1233 and W R Hay at 1243. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    318 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • A Towns 1940
    • Charles H Towns, an elevator operator at the Dawson Building 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lanning Pool Hall at 314 and N Aihoshi at 320. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1668 Nanton Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • E A Towns, a president at E A Towns Ltd 1940
    • Evelyn E Towns 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs W A Radcliffe at 1656 and Dr F A Turnbull at 1680. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    3395 Point Grey Road

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • A B Towns, a salesman at Tuckett 1940

    Next door in 1940: E G Houghton at 3383. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1547 Powell Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • Mrs Beatrice Towns 1940
    • Myrle J Towns 1940

    Next door in 1940: Atlas Sht Mtl Wks at 1545 and B C Shut-Ins Soc at 1549. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    3822 Windsor Street

    Kensington-Cedar Cottage, 1940

    • E Towns, a messenger at the Bank of Montreal 1940

    Next door in 1940: F G McAvity at 3836. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the ten: a maid (2), an elevator operator, a messenger, a president and a salesman. Two of them worked for St Paul's Hospital.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (2), Grandview-Woodland, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Kitsilano, Shaughnessy and Strathcona. 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 Irene Towns at 1101 Burrard Street, a maid at the St Paul's Hospital. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Stella Towns at 1235 Hornby Street, a maid at the St Paul's Hospital. The 1940 name section lists A Towns at 318 Main Street, with Charles H Towns, an elevator operator at the Dawson Building.

E A Towns is listed at 1668 Nanton 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 lists Edgar A Towns there as the householder, a president at E A Towns Ltd, with Evelyn E Towns. A B Towns is listed at 3395 Point Grey Road in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Alva B Towns there as the householder, a salesman at Tuckett.

The 1940 name section lists Mrs Beatrice Towns at 1547 Powell Street, with Myrle J Towns. In 1940 the directory lists E Towns at 3822 Windsor Street. The 1940 name section lists Edward Towns there as the householder, a messenger at the Bank of Montreal.

Today

1668 Nanton and 3822 Windsor still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 1101 Burrard, 1235 Hornby, 318 Main, 3395 Point Grey Road and 1547 Powell, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 13 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 Townses

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Towns 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.