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 research for over 20 years and am a Board-Certified genealogist, certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists®. My main genealogical interests are family research, cemetery research, and historical and genealogical research of the Chatt area, with a 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 the Daughters of the American Revolution, U.S. Daughters of 1812, First Families of Ohio, and First Families of Mercer and Van Wert Counties. I am also a retired dental hygienist and our church organist. 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

Dec 13

100th Birthday Celebrations

Last week my Aunt Ruth celebrated her 100th birthday and we traveled to Pennsylvania to surprise her on her big day.

Dec 10

Tombstone Tuesday–Karl C. Schmidt

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

Karl C. Schmidt
Gestorben
26 Jan 1872
Alter
47 Jahr, 2 Monat, 16 Tag

Karl C. Schmidt, Died 26 January 1872, aged 47 years, 2 months, 16 days. It appears the marker has broken at one time but has been reset in the ground.

Dec 06

1877 Letter to Louis Breuninger from Niece Sarah Kitchen

This past summer this old letter was found among some other old Schumm-related items.

Dated January 1877, it is a very sad letter from Sarah Kitchen in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to her uncle Louis Breuninger in Willshire, Ohio. Louis Breuninger was my great-great-grandfather, my grandfather Cornelius Schumm’s maternal grandfather.

Dec 03

Tombstone Tuesday–Rebecca (Shell) Schmidt

This is reportedly the tombstone of Rebecca Schmidt, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. This marble tombstone was very weathered and illegible when I took this photo in 2012. However, the Van Wert County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society read Zion Schumm’s Cemetery in 1992, when the inscription was apparently still readable. Their reading of this tombstone:

Rebecca Schmidt
Gest [?] 1862
27 J, 8 M, 13 T

Nov 28

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Karen’s Chatt! I wish each one of you a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. May your home be filled with happiness and thankfulness as you gather with family and friends today.