Karen Bennett

Greetings from the Chattanooga, Ohio, area. Yes, Ohio has its very own Chattanooga, aka Chatt, a small village in west-central Ohio, near the Indiana border. I have been doing family history and genealogy research for over 35 years and am Credentialed as a Board-certified genealogist by the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, 2003-2024, retired 2024. My main genealogical interests are family research, cemetery research, and historical and genealogical research of the Chatt area. I also focus on two area Lutheran Churches, both named Zion Lutheran, one in Chatt and the other in Schumm, Ohio. Family names I am researching include Miller, Schumm, Brewster, Rueck, Reid, Headington, Huey, Bryan, Whiteman, Schinnerer, Scaer, Breuninger, Bennett, and a few others. I belong to several lineage societies, including U.S. Daughters of 1812, First Families of Ohio, and First Families of Mercer and Van Wert Counties. I am a retired dental hygienist and our church organist for over 60 years. I hope you enjoy Karen's Chatt.

Most commented posts

  1. Golden Wedding Anniversary — 37 comments
  2. Haunted Mercer County? — 34 comments
  3. The Old Willshire Hotel — 30 comments
  4. Metal Cemetery Monuments — 25 comments
  5. The Milligan Painting — 24 comments

Author's posts

Oct 30

Evans City Cemetery, Night of the Living Dead

Today, on the eve of Halloween 2020, some photos I took last year at a cemetery in Pennsylvania that has become somewhat of a cult cemetery.

Last December we went to Pennsylvania to visit my Aunt Ruth on her 100th birthday. While there we learned that we were not far from the Evans City Cemetery, where the opening scenes of the 1968 zombie horror movie Night of the Living Dead were filmed.  

Oct 27

Tombstone Tuesday-Salome S. Schumm

This is the tombstone of Salome S. Schumm, located in row 6 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Salome S. Schumm
5 Feb 1893-12 Sep 1983

Oct 23

Willshire High School Junior Class, 1941-42

Below is a photo of Willshire High School’s Junior class, taken during the 1941-42 school year. My dad, Herb Miller, was a member of that class and you can see that he labeled this class photo.

Oct 20

Tombstone Tuesday-Lois M. Schumm

This is the tombstone of Lois M. Schumm, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Lois M.
Schumm
Nov. 28, 1928  †  May 4, 2002

Oct 16

Local Servicemen, Willshire, 1952

A couple days ago, while trying to reorganize and clean out the back room of our basement [a task with no end in sight], I ran across my aunt Ann’s 1952 edition of the Willshire Public School yearbook, the Willow. My dad’s sister, Ann (Miller) Kosier, was a Junior in 1952,