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

Decatur Street, Willshire, 1910

Seeing and studying old picture postcards is always fun. They give us a glimpse of how things looked years ago; what and where the stores were and how people got around. Chattanooga picture postcards are hard to find but postcards from Willshire are a little more common. Above is a nice picture postcard of Decatur …

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Tombstone Tuesday–J. George & Katharine (Karcher) Weinmann

This is the tombstone of Johann Georg Weinmann [Sr] and Katharine (Karcher) Weinmann, located in row 9 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Katharine Weinmann Gest. 13 Dez. 1907 Alter 75 J. 3 M. 10 T. 1Cor. 15, 25, 26 J. Georg Weinmann Gest. 4, Nov. 1907 Alter …

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Stripping the Bed

I really like quilts. All quilts. But my particular favorites are antique quilts. And I am fortunate to have a few very special antique quilts that were made by my grandma Schumm, my great-grandma Miller, my mother, and a great-grandaunt. A couple knowledgeable quilt people have told me one of the best ways to store …

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Tombstone Tuesday–George & Mary E. (Gunsett) Weinmann

This is the tombstone of George and Mary Elizabeth (Gunsett) Weinmann, located in row 2 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: WEINMANN George 1859-1958 Mary E. 1860-1947 John “George” Weinmann was born 18 September 1859 in Germany, the son of Johann George Sr (1829-1907) and Katharine (Karcher) (1832-1907) …

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Schumm Parochial School Dynamited in 1918

One hundred years ago our country was involved in World War I, united with our allies fighting against Germany and its allies in Europe. While our soldiers were fighting the Germans overseas, back here at home anti-German sentiment was directed at German-Americans. Some of that occurred in Ohio. Some even occurred in our community. During …

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