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

1910 Quadrennial Assessor’s Report of Blackcreek Township

I get pretty excited when I run across old documents and papers. This past week I acquired a little booklet that is 105 years old and that certainly fits the bill! My mom recently came across some old papers my dad had saved. This little 8 page booklet, “Quadrennial Assessor’s Report of Blackcreek Twp. Mercer …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Maria Friedricke Roehm

This is the tombstone of Maria Friedricke Roehm, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Hier Ruhet Maria F. [?] Tochter von G.A. und G. Roehm Gest. 19 Aug. 1901 Alter 2 [?] Y, 5 M, 28 D Maria Friedricke Roehm was born 21 February …

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Mrs. Fisher’s First Grade, Willshire, 1958-59

Just a week ago I was hoping to find an old school photo. And today, here it is–the other Willshire first grade class photo. I was looking for the classroom photo of Mrs. Fisher’s first grade, 1958-59, to see what the other half of our class looked like all those years ago. Even after 57 …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Eleanore A.M. Roehm

This is the tombstone of Eleanore Anna Magdalena Roehm, located in row 8 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Hier Ruhet Eleanore A. [?] M. Tochter von G.A. und G. Roehm Gest. Den 9 Oct. 1901 Alter 15 Y, 3 M, 26 D Translation: Here rests Eleanore A. …

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My First and Second Grades at Willshire Public School

This is Willshire Public School, the school I attended my first eight years. Last week someone on Facebook posted an old photo of my second grade class. Mrs. Marcella Schroeder was our teacher during that 1959-60 school year. The photo, shown below, shows our whole class sitting at our desks in our classroom. Of course …

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