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

Apr 09

Tombstone Tuesday–Jakob & Elisabeth (Pflueger) Bienz

This is the tombstone of Jakob and Elisabeth (Pflueger) Bienz, located in row 4 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:BIENZElisabethGattin VonJ. BienzGeb. 30 Juli1836Gest7 Feb. 1913JakobBienzGeb.1 Apr. 1825Gest17 Apr. 1908

Apr 05

Fraternal Societies in Willshire, 1904

For the past several weeks I have been posting personal items, items of interest, and various advertisements from the 5 May 1904 edition of the Willshire Herald. Those items give us a glimpse of the past—what Willshire was like just after the turn of the century. I am nearing the end of information I can gather from that newspaper but there are still a few items that I have not covered.

Apr 02

Tombstone Tuesday–Johann Bienz

This is the tombstone of Johann Bienz, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:Johann BienzGest den 13 Juli 1898Alter75J, 3M, 20 T

Mar 29

Bo-Peep Items, Willshire Herald, 1904

I am nearing the end of posting some of the many interesting items from the 5 May 1904 edition of the Willshire Herald, a newspaper that my great grandfather Louis J. Schumm saved. I have been posting items for several weeks now and have not yet covered all the information about the area people and the businesses in and around Willshire.

Mar 26

Tombstone Tuesday–Maria B.E. Bienz

This is the tombstone of Maria Barbara Elisabeth Bienz, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:Maria B.E. Tochter vonJ. und M. BienzGest. den 26 Jan 1897Alter 28 J. 3 M. 29 T.BIENZMaria B.E., daughter of J. and M. Bienz, died 26 January 1897, aged 28 years, 3 months, 29 days.