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

1879 Willshire Postmark

This is one of the oldest Willshire postmarks that I have, if not the oldest. The envelope is postmarked Wilshire, O, Mar 11.

Tombstone Tuesday-Coins Left on a Tombstone

Occasionally I will see coins that were left on a tombstone. What does that mean?

Area News, April-May 1911

There is probably not a better way to see what was going on in this area than to read what was in the local newspaper. Today, some area news from April and May 1911, as published in Mercer County’s Celina Democrat.  

Tombstone Tuesday-FNDOZBTKC/MRAY Masonic Inscription

These mysterious letters, FNDOZBTKC/MRAY, are inscribed on a tombstone in Van Wert’s Woodland Cemetery and are a Masonic acronym.

Willshire High School Class of 1938

Thank you very much to Larry and Anita for sharing this photo of the Willshire High School Graduating Class of 1938.