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? — 32 comments
  3. The Old Willshire Hotel — 30 comments
  4. The Milligan Painting — 22 comments
  5. Metal Cemetery Monuments — 21 comments

Author's posts

What’s Back There?

Sometimes what you see in the background of a photo is more interesting and informative than what you see in the foreground. You may see the location of items that are no longer standing or things that have been moved. You can see what homes and yards and other buildings looked like years ago. You …

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Tombstone Tuesday-Fredrick Betzel

This is the tombstone of Fredrick Betzel, located in Ward 2, row 8 of North Grove Cemetery, Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: BETZEL, Fredrick Betzel, Died Dec. 9, 1900, Aged 76 Y, 10 M, 21 D. Obituary: Dies At A Ripe Old Age Mr. Fredrick Betzel died Sunday afternoon in his …

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Five Tips for Safely Reading and Photographing Tombstones

Cemeteries are some of my favorite places to visit. It doesn’t make any difference if I have family buried in a particular cemetery or whose tombstone I am looking at, I enjoy looking at and photographing tombstones. I have been photographing tombstones for some time now and have hundreds of tombstone photographs. Some of those …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Johannes Betzel

This is the tombstone of Johannes Betzel, located in row 14 of Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed, Hier ruht Johannes Betzel, geboren 15 Juni 1852, gestorben 2 Marz 1879.Translated, Here rests Johannes Betzel, born 15 June 1852, died 2 March 1879. According to the records of Zion Lutheran Church, …

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On This Day Widget

Every morning my smart phone displays a list of my ancestors and relatives who were born, married or died on that day. The daily reminder is an interesting and fun feature. How does my phone do that? I am using the On This Day Widget, an add-on feature for the GedStar Pro for Android app. GedStar Pro …

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