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–Infant Sons of J & M Bollenbacher

These are the tombstones of two infant sons of J. & M. Bollenbacher, located in row 10 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The markers are inscribed: INFANT Son of J. & M. Bollenbacher Born Nov. 24, 1888 Died Nov. 24, 1888 INFANT Son of J. & M. Bollenbacher Born Oct. 1, 1893 …

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Dear Mom & All–WWII Letters from Herb

A few weeks ago I purchased a book, Home Front to Battlefront, An Ohio Teenager in World War II, by Frank Lavin. Frank’s father Carl Lavin was from Canton, Ohio, and was a high school senior when Pearl Harbor was attacked. When Carl turned 18 he enlisted in the Army and eventually was part of …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Mildred B. Bollenbacher

This is the tombstone of Mildred B. Bollenbacher, located in row 9 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Mildred B. Dau of Abe & Amanda Bollenbacher Died Dec. 7, 1914 Aged 6y, 6m, 3d Our Darling Mildred B. Bollenbacher was born 4 June 1908, as calculated from her tombstone …

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Schumm Elevator Burned, 1972

The year was 1972 and there was a big fire in the little village of Schumm, Ohio. Recently I wrote a couple blog posts about the Willshire Grain & Supply elevators that were located in Willshire, Wren, and Schumm for several decades, from the1940s to the early 1980s. My mom worked as a bookkeeper at …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Abraham & Amanda M. (Brush) Bollenbacher

This is the tombstone of Abraham and Amanda M. (Brush) Bollenbacher, located in row 8 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: BOLLENBACHER Amanda M 1889-1954 Abraham 1884-1940 Abraham Bollenbacher was born 8 December 1884 in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Indiana, the son of Jacob and Margaret (Huffman) Bollenbacher. [1] …

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