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

Infant Son of J.C. & M.C. Heffner

This is the tombstone of the infant son of John and Mary (Tester) Heffner, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: INFANT Son of J.C. & M.C. HEFFNER Born & Died Dec. 24, 1887 Unfortunately there is no record of this child’s birth, death, or burial …

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Independence Day!

Happy July 4th! America’s Independence Day. The day the Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the thirteen colonies were no longer part of Great Britain, but independent sovereign states that were part of a new nation. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and revised by the Continental Congress …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Frankie B. Heffner

This is the tombstone of Frankie B. Heffner, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Frankie B. Son of J.C. & M.C. Heffner Died Oct. 2, 1888 Aged 3 Y 6 M 19 D Franklin Benjamin Heffner was born 14 March 1885, the son of John …

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Becker or Baker?

This year marks the 160th anniversary of Zion Lutheran Church in Chatt. The other day I came across this nice photo of the Henry and Mary (Manche) Baker family. Their families were some of the earliest members of Zion Chatt and Zion’s old records contain quite a bit of information about both the Becker and …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Mary (Tester) Heffner

This is the tombstone of Mary (Tester) Heffner, located in row 6 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Mary Wife of John Haeffner Born Aug. 20 1860 Died Mar. 21 1895 Aged 34 Y, 7 M, 1 D Maria “Mary” Catharina Tester was born 20 August 1860 in Ohio, …

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