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

Jun 01

Tombstone Tuesday-GAR Symbol

This patriotic tombstone inscription is the symbol of the Grand Army of the Republic.

May 28

Clues in the 1850 Mortality Schedule

As I was researching this week’s Tombstone Tuesday about Michael Billman I found some additional information about a woman who I theorize may have been his daughter.

The records of Zion Lutheran Schumm indicate that Louisa A. Billman married John Bienz on 7 November 1848 at Zion.

May 25

Tombstone Tuesday-Michael Billman

This is the tombstone of Michael Billman, located in row 9 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

IN
Memory of
Michael Billman
who died June 9th
1846
aged 47 years
11 mo & 9 d.

May 21

Ducklings Galore! (not genealogy related, but cute)

We have lived here on our wooded lot for well over forty years. We have a pond in our back yard and nearly every spring some ducks arrive but they only stay a couple weeks. A variety of ducks will visit but mainly we get mallard ducks and wood ducks.

May 18

Tombstone Tuesday-Urn Symbol

One of the earliest and most commonly used gravestone icons is the likeness of an urn placed on top of a tombstone or carved onto the grave marker.

The urn was one of the first symbols used that replaced the death head and soul effigy in the 19th century,