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

Family Quilts

This week I have an interesting story that connects both sides of my family, the Millers and the Schumms, long before my parents were ever married. This story involves my great-grandmother Christina Rueck, before she and Jacob Miller married. It also involves my mom’s side of the family, the Schumms. The Schumms were from Ruppertshofen, …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Elisabeth (Ehrenmann) Schumm

This is the tombstone of Elisabeth Schumm, located in row 6 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio.  The tombstone is inscribed Hier Ruhet Elisabeth, Ehefrau von Martin Schumm, Gest. Den 28 Jan 1893, Alter 32j, 11m, 28t. Translation: Here Rests Elisabeth, wife of Martin Schumm, Died 28 Jan 1893, Age 32 years, …

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Jacob Muller Sails to America

Last week I detailed how I found Jacob Muller’s immigration information in the Germans to America index at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. That index showed that Jacob traveled on the ship Bremen and arrived in New York on 15 June 1871. With that information I headed to the library’s microfilm cabinets …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Barbara A. Schinnerer

This is the tombstone of Barbara A. Schinnerer, located in row 3 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The tombstone is inscribed Hier Ruhe Barbara A. Tochter von F. und E. Schinnerer, Gest. Den 14 Marz 1897, Alter 33 y, 11m, 20t. The translation: Here rests Barbara A., Daughter of F. and …

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Thank You, Jacob Miller!

Nearly two decades ago, when I first seriously started researching my family history, I wanted to find immigration information about my great-grandfather Jacob Miller. On what ship did he travel? When and where did he arrive? I knew he immigrated sometime in the last half of the 19th century but I didn’t know the exact details. …

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