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

Farmers Mutual Aid Association of Van Wert County, part 2

Last week I posted four of six postcards from The Farmers Mutual Aid Association of Van Wert County, Ohio, that were sent to my great-grandfather Louis J. Schumm. Last week’s postcards were dated from 1889-1893. Today I am posting the other two postcards that Louis had stashed away in an old book. These two are …

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Tombstone Tuesday–George F. Huffman

This is the mausoleum marker of George F. Huffman, located in the Chattanooga Mausoleum, Mercer County, Ohio. The vault is inscribed: Father George F. Huffman 1853-1937 George Ferdinand Huffman was born in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio, on 29 June 1853 according to Zion’s Familienbuch. He was the son of Ferdinand and Elizabeth (Hartzog/Herzog) Hoffman. …

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Farmers Mutual Aid Association of Van Wert County

I am still finding interesting items with some good information in places that I haven’t had the time to go through yet. The other day I was unpacking some old books that belonged to my great-grandfather Louis J. Schumm and his son Cornelius, my grandfather. Most of these books were old and were written in …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Philip & Etta (Leistner) Huffman

This is the tombstone of Philip and Etta (Leistner) Huffman, located in row 3 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: HUFFMAN Philip 1859-1954 Etta 1874-1956 Philip Huffman was born 24 December 1859 in Mercer County, Ohio, to Ferdinand and Elizabeth (Herzog/Hartzog) Huffman. He had a twin sister Elizabeth. Zion’s …

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The Breuninger Boots

Last Saturday was a very pleasant summer day so we decided to drive up to northern Indiana and spend the day in Shipshewana. I actually had an ulterior motive. Ever since we were up there last month, talking with the shoemaker at the Center for Traditional Arts, 160 Morton Street, about my great-great-grandfather’s boots, I …

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