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

Apr 16

Parents for Maria Seckel

I broke through a brick wall this past week and did the Genealogy Happy Dance. I haven’t done that dance for some time and it was pretty exciting.

All this, thanks to Cousin Ken, my 4th cousin on the Schumm branch of my family. Ken contacted me recently and told me that he was looking at images of the church records from Ruppertshofen, where the Schumms attended church before immigrating in 1833.

Apr 13

Tombstone Tuesday-Sarah Hartzog

This is the tombstone of Sarah Hartzog, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:
Sarah
wife of
George Hartzog
Died Dec 28th
1846
aged 58 Y’rs 9
mo, & 19 ds

Apr 09

A Pressing Matter

Ironing. Or as we used to call it, pressing. A chore I do not enjoy. I don’t think anyone enjoys ironing. Fortunately, most of today’s clothing is pretty much perma-press wash and wear, and doesn’t require ironing. Nice for all of us.

Apr 06

Tombstone Tuesday-Column Symbols

Stately-looking columns are sometimes used to frame the ends of a tombstone. Unbroken columns symbolize a noble life or that life has been completed.

Apr 02

Good Friday 2021

Today is Good Friday, the day Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us.
The cross is the Christian symbol of salvation, used often on tombstones, years ago as well as today. Here are a few different variations of crosses I have seen on tombstones.