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

Tombstone Tuesday–Jacob Schumm

This is the tombstone of Jacob Schumm, located in row 2 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Hier ruhet in Gott Jacob Schumm, Sohn von, Fredrich n. Magdalena

More Willshire Advertising, 1904

Today, some more ads from the 5 May 1904 edition of the Willshire Herald that my great-grandfather Louis J. Schumm saved.

Willshire appears to have been a thriving village back in 1904.

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.