And The Guest Author Is . . .

M. Diane Rogers
CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt'

This Friday From The Collectors, Shades welcomes Diane Rogers of CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' to show us something very curious she found in her family photographs. Diane has long been interested in photographs; she describes her interest and herself this way.

My interest in photographs is two-fold. My Na, my maternal grandmother, and my mum used to talk to me about their family – likely that’s where my interest in genealogy and family history began. When I was about twelve, Na and I spent time one summer going through her black trunk of old photographs of family and friends. As she talked, identifying people and places, I labeled the photos for her. She then gave me a few old photographs which I kept at home in my room along with pictures of my dad when he was younger and of my mother when she was in the Canadian Army.

I’ve always loved Canadian history and I collect photographs, postcards, and other ephemera. I am especially interested in women's history – this is a lifelong interest and I know I inherited that from my mother. When I got serious about researching ancestors, I started by looking at the women and soon realized that, although many times there’s not much about them in ‘official’ sources, most everyone I knew had family photographs showing women. Many times it was women who had saved the family photograph collections and sometimes it was thought women had even taken the ‘snaps’ or commissioned the family portraits. That’s when I started researching photographs and talking to people about them. I volunteer for the British Columbia Genealogical Society and the Women’s History Network of British Columbia. I’m the Editor of the BCGS journal, The British Columbia Genealogist; we include as many photographs as possible. And I teach about genealogy and family history - ‘Researching Female Ancestors’ and ‘Analyzing Family Photographs’ are most popular sessions and lots of fun!

Join us Friday, March 20, for something really unique. I enjoy Diane's work and I always learn something new. So will you!