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

Plate Charger

Charger is a word used for many things. A charger can be: A San Diego football player A Dodge car A battery charger The fictional Transformer named Charger A Prototype light attack and observation aircraft (Convair Charger) An Australian rugby team (Gold Coast Chargers) A medieval war horse A  British term for a clip used …

Continue reading

Tombstone Tuesday–Margra E. & John Kallenberger

This is the tombstone of John and Margra Kallenberger, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: KALLENBERGER Margra E. 1910-1983 John 1910-1995 According to the records of Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, Johann Andres Kallenberger was born 5 October 1910 to Michael and Maggie (Rueck Miller) Kallenberger. …

Continue reading

My Genealogy Wish List

I hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving Day with your families. We have so much to be thankful for. We had a nice dinner with my mom, our son and his very soon-to-be bride. It was our first Thanksgiving without my dad and we miss him. The Bennett Thanksgiving dinner will be tomorrow. …

Continue reading

Tombstone Tuesday–Magdalene and Henry Schumm

This is the tombstone of Magdalene and Henry Schumm, located in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: SCHUMM Magdalene 1865-1946 Henry 1844-1922 Henry Schumm was known as “River Henry” to people in the Willshire area because his farm bordered the St. Marys River east of Willshire. …

Continue reading

1918 Letter from Regina to Christine Rueck Miller

One of the best things about blogging about family and local history is being contacted by distant relatives, old  acquaintances, former area inhabitants and others researching the same surnames. Recently I was contacted by another Rueck researcher, Onno Rueck, from Switzerland. Onno seems to have an extensive database of Ruecks from all around the world but we …

Continue reading