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

Aug 30

The Miller Brothers in Coalinga, California, c1911-12

Last week I showed a 1911 panoramic photo of the A.O. Company oil workers in Oil Center, Kern County, California. Two of my great-uncles are in that photo, half-brothers Chris Miller and Jacob Miller Jr.

Chris (1880-1911) was the son of Jacob Miller and his second wife Margaretha Strabel. Jacob Jr (1885-1913) was the son of Jacob Miller and his third wife Christena Rueck.

Aug 27

Tombstone Tuesday–Alma A.W. Sauer

This is the tombstone of Alma A.W. Sauer, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Alma A.W.
Tochter von
L. n M. Sauer
Geb. 21 Jan. 1911
Gest. 15 Jan. 1912

Aug 23

Oil Workers, A.O. Co., Oil Center, California, 1911

Adventure and the quest for fortune have always been alluring to some young men. In the early 1900s the news of the oil strikes and oil fields out West was enough to lure two farm boys from rural Mercer County, Ohio, westward, on a quest to make their fortunes. Those two young men, Christian “Chris” Miller and Jacob Miller Jr, were my great-uncles, brothers of my grandfather Carl Miller. They left their farm life to work in the oil fields of Texas, Oklahoma, and California around 1910.

Aug 20

Tombstone Tuesday–Lulu A.K. Pflueger

This is the tombstone of Lulu Anna Katharine Pflueger, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Lulu A.K.
Tochter von
A. u. A. Pflueger
Geb. 11, Juli 1902
Gest. 28, Juni 1907

Aug 16

Willshire High School Class of 1947

Today, more class photos of the Willshire High School Class of 1947. These class photos are from their high school years, 1943-1947. The class was larger during their early high school years, but twelve graduated in 1947. My mom, Florence (Schumm) Miller was a member of that Willshire High School graduating class of 1947. I do appreciate that she labeled these photos.