February 27, 2012 at 7 pm
Ridgewood Public Library
"One Thing Leads to Another: The Genealogy Journey of Discovery."
by Maureen Wlodarczyk
This lecture will cover her motivation for finding more about her family history, years of researching and also about the unexpected, serendipitous things that happened and how one small discovery or bit of information can open the door to more unexpected discoveries. She will also talk about DNA testing for genealogical research as it relates to her search.
Maureen Wlodarczyk is an admitted and unrepentant history and genealogy addict. She is an officer and genealogical researcher with the Flannery Clan organization based in Dublin, Ireland and is a member of the Irish American Writers and Artists organization and the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Maureen managed to squeeze in a career as a senior operations manager in commercial banking and finance, still dabbling in that these days as a consultant. Maureen has helped many people research and discover their own family history and ancestral roots and offers her genealogical services to the public upon request.
Maureen is the author of two non-fiction historical stories of 19th century life in New Jersey. The first, “Past-Forward: A Three-Decade and Three-Thousand-Mile Journey Home” is the story of her 30-year search for her beloved grandmother’s Irish roots and the discovery of nearly 200 years of family history in Ireland and America. The second, “Young & Wicked: The Death of a Wayward Girl,” is the true story of a young, star-crossed criminal couple who lived in Jersey City in the late 1800s and later fled to the Bowery where one of them died and the other, a second cousin of Maureen’s great-grandmother, was accused of the murder.
Maureen has a blog (http://www.past-forward.com/blog) with additional genealogical and historical stories. She also writes a twice-monthly column titled “Hudson Then . . . Again” for the River View Observer (Hudson County NJ).