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

Jul 15

Max W. Friddle/Friedell Revisited

Ancestry.com’s recent partnership with the Indiana Archives and Records Administration has been a real boon to my research. That partnership made nearly 17 million Indiana birth, death, and marriage records digitally accessible on Ancestry.com. The available records include Indiana marriage records from 1958-2005, Indiana death records from 1900-2011, and Indiana birth certificates from 1907-1940. Wa-hoo! …

Continue reading

Jul 12

Tombstone Tuesday–Jacob & Mary (Kettering) Becher

This is the tombstone of Jacob and Mary Becher, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Jacob Becher 1859-1916 Mary Becher 1860-1923 BECHER According to Zion Chatt’s Familienbuch, Jacob Becher was born 8 May 1859 in Mercer County, Ohio, the third of ten children born to …

Continue reading

Jul 08

Carrie Wren Friedell Revisited

Nearly a year ago I researched and wrote about Carrie Wren Friedell, a mystery woman buried in Zion Chatt’s cemetery, who was not mentioned in the church records. Last August I turned what I learned about her and her family into a four-part miniseries, Zion Chatt’s Mid-Summer Mystery. From my research, all done on-line, I …

Continue reading

Jul 05

Tombstone Tuesday–Henry R. & Mary A. (Menche) Baker

This is the tombstone of Henry R. and Mary A. (Menche) Baker, located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Father   B   Mother Henry R. Baker 1851-1914 Mary A. His Wife 1856-1915 BAKER Reverse: O, Let us think of all they said And all the kind advice …

Continue reading

Jul 01

Independence Day 2016

This coming Monday is the Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day. It has been 240 years since the Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the thirteen colonies were no longer part of Great Britain but were independent sovereign states that were part of a new nation. Below are some …

Continue reading