Seth Offenberger turned his work on his family’s genealogy into a book now available at shops in Marietta. (Image Provided)

MARIETTA — In 2008, Seth Offenberger started working on his family’s genealogy by collecting pictures, newspaper clippings and stories from his grandmother.

Those led him to places he hadn’t anticipated and resulted in his book, “From Jeremiah to Jeane – and The Adventure I Found in Between.”

“I started out just hoping to fill in my family tree,” said Offenberger, a Marietta native and lifelong resident. “What I ended up realizing is that investigating family history is more akin to a true adventure into time, complete with tales and treasures that likely would be lost if you hadn’t picked up a torch and lit the tombs of the past.”

He started out working on ancestry.com and then branched out to newspaper clippings and other sources of historical information, family stories and family artifacts. He considers himself to be lucky in finding what he did now, before it was lost to time.

Offenberger decided to chronicle his experience so it might better survive the passage of time. He wasn’t expecting that those beyond his family might be interested in reading it.

(Image Provided)

“I’ve gotten some very sweet feedback from those that have read my little book,” he said. “Readers seem to enjoy the way I’ve made my adventure into ours — we are in it together. I hope it inspires others to look a little closer at their own family stories and artifacts so maybe they can connect the dots that might lead them to similar discoveries, before the trail goes cold.”

He didn’t wish to say too much about what he discovered about his family’s history through his research because he wants people reading the book to find out first. However, he did recall discovering a gift his great-great-grandfather received in 1888 which he was able to restore to his family.

Offenberger wants to remind people that today’s streets are the same ones that their ancestors traveled.

“Their history is our history,” he said. “Just under the surface are the stories of those that came before us. Parts of their lives might still be in your parents’ basements. Bring them to the surface before they’re buried forever.

“All I really want is for more people who enjoy this type of story to find it. If you have a friend or family member who might appreciate a personal adventure into local history, maybe gift them a copy or share yours. Nothing would make me happier.”

Seth Offenberger

For himself and, he hopes, for others, the most interesting thing about this type of research is the joy of looking even more than what is found at the end.

“It’s a little adventure I think everyone can enjoy.”

“From Jeremiah to Jeanne – And The Adventure I Found in Between” by Seth Offenberger is available for purchase ($9.99 retail) at the Campus Martius Museum Gift Shop, Asylum Comics on Third Street, and both J&M Books & Play and Wit & Whimzy on Front Street in Marietta.

Wayne Towner can be reached at wtowner@newsandsentinel.com.