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

Sep 28

Dear Mom & All–WWII Letters from Herb (part 27)

Today, more transcriptions of the letters my dad, Herbert Miller, wrote home while serving his country during WWII. Today’s letters begin in January 1946. The war was over and my dad was serving in the Occupation Force in Germany, serving until he had enough time and points to be honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. …

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Sep 25

Tombstone Tuesday–Some Tombstones from St. Augustine Cemetery

This past Sunday was an absolutely perfect autumn day. The temperature was in the mid-70s and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect time to walk through a cemetery. I lead a walk through Minster’s St. Augustine Cemetery Sunday afternoon, hosted by Minster’s Historical Society. I was not acquainted with …

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Sep 21

Book about 1872 Murder Near Chatt

Most everyone who grew up in the Chatt area has heard about the murder of 13-year-old Mary Secaur in June 1872 and of the lynching of the two men who were jailed for her murder, Absalom Kimmel and Alexander McLeod. Mary Arabelle Secaur was murdered on her way home from church one Sunday, murdered east …

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Sep 18

Tombstone Tuesday–David Kreiselmeyer

This is the tombstone of David Kreiselmeyer, located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: David Sohn von C. & S. Kreiselmeyer geb. den. 3 October 1851 gest. den. 16 April 1865 David, son of C. & S. Kreiselmeyer, born 3 October 1851, died 16 April …

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Sep 14

Zion Chatt’s Quartet

Here is a photo of a very handsome group, known years ago as Zion’s Quartet. In the photo, left to right are Howard Caffee, Stubby Bollenbacher, Rev. Carl Yahl, Paul McGough, and Paul’s twin sister Pauline (McGough) DeArmond. Pauline was the pianist for the quartet. Rev. Yahl was Zion Chatt’s minister from 1931-1942, so the …

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