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

Aug 12

Some Mercer County Deaths, 1850 Mortality Schedule

Last week I wrote about the remarks census taker Willshire Riley made in Mercer County’s 1850 Mortality Schedule. The 1850 Mortality Schedule reported the county deaths of those who died between 1 June 1849 and 31 May 1850, the year prior to census day, which was 1 June 1850.

Aug 09

Tombstone Tuesday-Knights of Pythias Symbol

The Knights of Pythias was officially founded in Washington DC in 1864 by Justus Rathbone, founded as a secret fraternal society for government clerks.

Aug 05

Remarks in Mercer County’s 1850 Mortality Schedule

Mercer County, Ohio’s 1850 Mortality Schedule is rather interesting. Not just because it has information about individuals in the county who died sometime during the 12 months prior to the 1850 census day, 1 June 1850, but because one of the enumerators wrote remarks in the Remarks section at the bottom of the pages. Reading remarks on an old document is usually pretty interesting.

Aug 02

Tombstone Tuesday-Henry C. Buechner

This is the tombstone of Henry C. Buechner, located in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Henry C. Buechner 1867-1931

Jul 29

Earliest Censuses for Mercer County & Willshire Township

In February 1820 the Ohio government authorized the establishment of Mercer County and Van Wert County. Mercer County was organized in 1824 and Van Wert County was organized in 1837. Who were some of the earliest settlers in this area?