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. The Milligan Painting — 22 comments
  5. Metal Cemetery Monuments — 21 comments

Author's posts

Memorial Day 2012

Memorial Day will be celebrated this coming Monday, May 28th. This federal holiday, originally designated Decoration Day, dates back to time of the Civil War. It began as a way to remember and honor both Union and Confederate soldiers who were killed during the Civil War. After WWI Memorial Day was extended to honor Americans …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Minnie Schumm

This is the tombstone of Wilhelmina “Minnie” (Breuninger) Schumm, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed Minnie Schumm, Aug. 26, 1860-Jan. 28, 1899. Minnie was the fourth child of Louis and Maria (Seckel) Breuninger, my great-great-grandparents. According to the records of Zion Lutheran Church, Schumm, …

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Civil War Certificate of Non-Liability–The Breuninger Collection

We have quite a number of old documents, papers, letters and various other items that once belonged to my great-great-grandfather, Louis Breuninger (1819-1890). Most of the items had been stored away for years in the crude wooden trunk that held his possessions when he came to this country in about 1839. There are enough of …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Peter L. Breuninger

This is the tombstone of Peter L. Breuninger, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed BREUNINGER, Peter L., 1870-1939. Peter Breuninger was the sixth and youngest child of Louis and Maria (Seckel) Breuninger. Louis and Maria were my great-great-grandparents and Peter was my great-granduncle. According …

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2012 NGS Conference in Cincinnati–A Pictorial Wrap Up

Thanks to the planners, sponsors, volunteers and everyone else who made the 2012 NGS Conference in Cincinnati successful. I attended 2 sessions Saturday morning before we left at noon: “Research Reports for Ourselves” by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA. “Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management & Analysis” by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, …

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