Even though September McCarthy scored higher in English than in math on her standardized tests for graduate schools, she has spent most of her life working in accounting, finance, and computers.

In recent years, however, a journey into her own past coupled with a move to Wareham has ignited a passion for history that has her delving back into her English roots.

McCarthy, in conjunction with the Wareham Historical Society, is coming out with a new book entitled "Legendary Locals of Wareham" that will tell the story of trailblazers and iconic personalities that make up the larger story of Wareham.

"It’s sort of been a passion that's been waiting for me to find," said McCarthy about her new found love of history.

The book will be published by Arcadia Publishing, a company that specializes in local history and has published "Images of Wareham," a history of Wareham told through photographs of people and places.

Like "Images of Wareham," McCarthy's book will be primarily visual as it tells the stories of around 120 people both living and deceased.

"It's for the unsung heroes as well as for the well known ancestors," said McCarthy. "I think it'll be a wonderful thing for Wareham…a great chance for people to share their stories and to honor those who made contributions to making Wareham what it is today."

McCarthy ignited a love affair with history when she started tracing her family history after her grandmother passed away in 2003.

While digging through the archives, McCarthy discovered names like Nickerson, Cahoon, Wickson, and Martin, names of prominent Wareham locals that are found on street signs throughout the town.

Arthur Martin, for example, was a man who owned a Stone and Gravel Business in Wareham in the early 1900s, McCarthy said. He also was member of the "Knights of Pythias," a social welfare organization.

"They're all buried at Long Neck Cemetery" in Onset, said McCarthy.

Coincidence played another part in linking McCarthy's fate with that of Wareham's.

McCarthy's mother bought a condominium in Bay Pointe Village in Wareham in 2000, 3 years before McCarthy started digging in the crates for traces of her past.

But while doing her research, September McCarthy discovered that the very land her mother's condo was situated on was once owned by a Cahoon - one of the McCarthy family ancestors.

In effect, a McCarthy was back living on land once owned by their family.

"After she moved there…from doing the genealogy, we learned that the land was our ancestral land," said McCarthy.

It is the type of coincidence that makes the McCarthy - Wareham connection meant to be.

"I just felt comfortable here," McCarthy said about her own move to Wareham in 2007 - which was done partly to be closer to her mother and partly because of an opportunity to buy a home, she said.

"You know how you go somewhere and you feel comfortable, or you don't feel comfortable, you don't know why…I've just always felt comfortable here."

McCarthy got involved with the Wareham Historical Society after her move and threw herself into learning more about the Wareham history.

She offered the Historical Society her technical expertise, helping to create a website, all the while impressing Carolyn McMorrow, the president of the Wareham Historical Society.

"September is really quite a researcher," said McMorrow. "She has been doing some archival research for us for the last year or two…and she is top…she just baffles me."

McCarthy started doing some writing of her own as well, publishing her work in online mediums, and her work was eventually noticed by Arcadia Publishing earlier in the year.

The publishing company approached McCarthy and asked her if she wanted to write a book in their "Legendary Locals" series that focused on Wareham. McCarthy said yes, and signed a contract in April of this year.

Now McCarthy is getting used to a busy schedule where she must complete a certain amount of biographies per month, and she is looking for people to help her with her project.

"I am not presuming in any way that I have all of the knowledge," said McCarthy, who will be using the Wareham Historical Society archives to do her research.

McCarthy is thinking about designating certain hours on the weekend where members of the community can meet her and offer suggestions.

She has also created an email address, warehamlocals@gmail.com, where people can email her information and pictures of legendary men and women in their community.

McCarthy is quick to point out that people who send her pictures will be credited in the book and will retain their rights and ownership over their property.

"Your picture of 'Aunt Nan' will still be yours, it won't be handed over to anybody in any way," McCarthy said.

The pictures can be of the legends in Wareham history, such as the Makepeaces, the Tobeys, or the Fearings, but the book will also feature current business people and activists that "have contributed to the character and personality of Wareham," McCarthy said.

A portion of the proceeds will go to McCarthy, and a portion will go to the Wareham Historical Society, McCarthy said. McCarthy is aiming to have the book out by Spring of 2013.

McCarthy doesn't expect her book to be the hot new bestseller that is going to sell a million copies. But it is a natural outcome of a new found passion that was first sparked when looking into her family history.

And McCarthy, who was working on a history of Main Street in Wareham when Arcadia first approached her, is hoping that it will be her first book of many.

"This is not something that I'm going to get rich off of, but it's a publication credit, and it's the start of something new," she said.