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

Tombstone Tuesday–Charles & Clara (Schumm) Dietrich Markle

This is the tombstone of Charles and Clara Rosina (Schumm) Dietrich Merkle, located in row 5 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Business Ads from 1904 Willshire Herald

Karen’s Chatt is up and running again, after some website and server upgrades. The website looks the same from the outside but the inner workings are much improved and working quite well.

Website Maintenance

Karen’s Chatt is undergoing maintenance and there will be no blog post Friday, 8 February 2019. Posts will resume with next week’s Tombstone Tuesday.

Tombstone Tuesday–Ernest G. Dietrich

This is the tombstone of Ernest George Dietrich, located in row 9 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: WE SHALL MEET AGAIN Ernest G. Dietrich Gest den 20 Juli 1905 Alter 41 J, 11 T Ernest G. Dietrich, died 20 July 1905, aged 41 years, 11 days. Christened …

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Personal Items from 1904 Willshire Herald

I am still getting information from the 5 May 1904 edition of the Willshire Herald that my great-grandfather Louis J. Schumm saved. The Willshire Herald was the predecessor of today’s Photo Star. Years ago local newspapers included personal items—information that included some of the happenings around the neighborhood–what the neighbors were doing, who visited who, …

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