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

Amalia (Backhaus) Schumm (1859-1948)

This is another photo from what I call The German Collection, a group of family photos that sisters Edna and Viola Germann once had. I am in the process of scanning the collection and fortunately many of the photos are labeled. This photo is labeled “Aunt Amelia Schumm, La Porte, Indiana.” Amalia K. (Backhaus) Schumm, …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Eliza

This is the tombstone of Eliza, located at the far end of row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: ELIZA Wife of Franklin Edo [?] Died Aged 30 ys. 4 mo. 18 da. Unfortunately, this stone is broken at a very important place, eradicating Eliza’s date of death. …

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The 1948 Tornado

A few weeks ago John Vining posed an interesting question, wondering if a tornado touched down about three miles south of Willshire, in Mercer County, on 19 March 1948, before moving northeastward into Van Wert County. This tornado was part of a storm system that went through Ohio City, Landeck, and Columbus Grove, killing three …

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Tombstone Tuesday–William H. Cordier

This is the tombstone of William H. Cordier, located in row 1 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: William H. Son of H.J. & L. B. Cordier Died Sept 24, 1894 Aged 4 M. 28 D. CORDIER William was the son of Henry J. and Louisa Barbara (Deitsch) Cordier and …

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More DNA Test Results

Yesterday I received some preliminary results from my latest DNA test. About a month ago I sent a saliva sample to 23andMe and the results are back already. The initial results are easy to understand and, as always, are interesting. The test results from 23andMe gave me some new information as well as reiterating some …

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