Jane Neff Rollins began researching her family history when genealogy research required going to the Family History Library in person, and hand scrolling microfilm. The first time she recognized her great-grandfather’s family on the 1900 census, she burst into tears. Although she specializes in researching those with Eastern European Jewish ancestry, her clients have diverse backgrounds, including those with roots in colonial America. Jane speaks, reads, and writes Russian and French, and has transliterated 19th century Russian language census, business directory, and vital records entries for online databases over the last 20 years. Jane has a substantial personal collection of late 19th and early 20th century family photographs, some of which were taken by ancestors who were professional photographers both in Russia and the United States. She studied costume design in college and worked as a costumer/assistant designer for the Portland Opera Company. Her knowledge of fashion helps her determine when and where your family photographs may have been taken. As an epidemiologist and medical writer, Jane’s knowledge of health and medicine enables her to interpret the significance of DNA test results. Jane has spoken professionally about genealogy since 2012, and has since given genealogy lectures throughout the U.S. and abroad. Jane’s genealogical writing has appeared in RootsKey, the newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society – Los Angeles. She is also the author of the upcoming book, Health Care Navigation 101: Make the Health Care System Work for You. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, the National Genealogical Society and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles.
