Memorable Manitobans: Edith MacTavish Rogers (1876-1947)

Feminist, MLA (1921-1922), MLA (1923-1927), MLA (1927-1932).

Born at Norway House, Manitoba on 26 April 1876, daughter of D. C. MacTavish, late Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, great-granddaughter of Alexander Christie. She married Robert Arthur Rogers with whom she had four children: Margaret MacTavish Rogers, Jean Rogers (b 1901, Mrs. W. Lawson), Enid Rogers (b 1903), and John A. Rogers.

Niece of A. M. Campbell.

Rogers was the first woman to be elected to the Manitoba legislature (1920), representing Winnipeg. In 1921, she introduced the legislation that incorporated the Winnipeg Foundation. She was an active advocate of the Child Welfare Act. A Liberal, she was re-elected in 1922 and 1927. During the First World War she was very involved in volunteer work, and was particularly active in social-welfare work. She served as the only woman on the Winnipeg General Hospital Board, and was secretary of the Central Council of the Battalion Auxiliaries.

She moved to Ontario in 1942 and died at Colborne on 19 April 1947. She was buried in St. John’s Cemetery.

There are papers at the Archives of Manitoba.

See also:

Edith Rogers by Gail Konantz, Peguis Publishers, 1981.

Some Women Candidates for the Manitoba Legislature by Linda McDowell
MHS Transactions, Series 3, Number 32, 1975-76 Season

Sources:

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

“Mrs. Edith Rogers dies in Colborne”, Winnipeg Free Press, 19 April 1947. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B9]

This profile was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Profile revised: 15 April 2012

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