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 and genealogy research for over 35 years and am Credentialed as a Board-certified genealogist by the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, 2003-2024, retired 2024. My main genealogical interests are family research, cemetery research, and historical and genealogical research of the Chatt area. I also 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 U.S. Daughters of 1812, First Families of Ohio, and First Families of Mercer and Van Wert Counties. I am a retired dental hygienist and our church organist for over 60 years. 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

Tombstone Tuesday–Bertha M. Allmandinger

This is the tombstone of Bertha M. Allmandinger, located in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Bertha M. Allmandinger 1903-1930 It is interesting that the vital details of Bertha’s life were documented in the church records of both Zion Lutheran Chattanooga and Zion Lutheran Schumm. According to the …

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Conferences and Research

The 2013 FGS Conference is less than three months away now. This is one of two national genealogy conferences that I try to attend if relatively close. This year’s FGS conference is in Fort Wayne, close enough for me to drive every day. The May/June blog post prompt for conference ambassadors is “How will you …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Franklin H. & Sarah S. Beach

This is the tombstone of Franklin H. & Sarah S. Beach, located in Woodlawn Cemetery, Ohio City, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: BEACH Franklin H. 1857-1922 Sarah S. 1869-1926 I enjoy looking for and photographing unusual insignia on tombstones. The two images on the Beach tombstone are ones that  I show in my “Rocks of Ages,” …

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Johann Christian Pflueger

All in all, I was fairly successful in researching the Pflueger branch of my family, thanks in part to the records of Zion Lutheran Schumm. Those records told me the most important thing I needed to know in order to research an ancestor back in Germany—his town of origin. Those church records told me that …

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Tombstone Tuesday–J. Christian Pflueger

This is the tombstone of J. Christian Pflueger, located in row 9 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Hier ruht in Gott J. Christian Pflueger geb. den 12 Mai 1781 gest. den 28 Mar 1877 Alter 95 Jahre, 10 Mo, 16 Ta “Here rests in God, J. Christian …

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