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

Oct 15

Grandpa’s Golf Cart

Golf carts have always been popular with golfers but recently they have become even more popular with people, not for golfing, but just to get around in their community.

Oct 12

Tombstone Tuesday-Bird Symbol

Birds, usually doves, are common tombstone symbols. They symbolize peace, resurrection, and innocence.
Birds are usually depicted as flying or sitting but we saw this unusual bird scene on a tombstone at Greenville Union Cemetery, Darke County, Ohio.

Oct 08

Willshire Village School Bus No.3

I recently spoke at the Willshire Alumni Banquet, to a great group of people who waited a long time for that banquet to be held. One of the things I talked about was Willshire Village School Bus No. 3, which picked up the Chatt-area school children in 1939-40. While preparing for the alumni talk I discovered that I had two additional photos of that bus that were most likely taken on the same day.

Oct 05

Tombstone Tuesday-John Shilling

This is the tombstone of John Schilling, located in row 8 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

John Shilling
Died
Nov. 8, 1877
Aged
55 ys, 7 mo, 22 ds

Oct 01

Another 1908 Willshire School Postcard

If this postcard looks familiar, you are not mistaken. I featured a postcard just like it last week and another one several years ago.
This was a very popular photo postcard in the Willshire area in the early 1900s.