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

Mar 12

Two More Photos of Grove School No.8

Today I have two more photos of students standing in front of Grove School No.8, Black Creek Township, Mercer County, Ohio. One was taken before 1930 and the other taken in 1930.

Mar 09

Tombstone Tuesday-Catharine (Hardzog) Strete

This is the tombstone of Catharine (Hardzog) Strete, located in row 7 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

IN
Memory of
Catharine wife
Of John Strete who
Died Feb. 27th 1845
Aged 20 [?] Years, 3 Mo
& 8 days

Mar 05

Black Creek Township’s Old Schools

A couple weeks back I posted a photo of Grove School, Black Creek’s School no. 8. The other day, while looking through the 1978 Mercer County History, edited by Joyce Alig, I ran across an article about all nine schools that were in Black Creek Township years ago. The article was written by the late Florence Gause, a local genealogist who lived in Black Creek Township. Additional information about School no. 3 was written by Edith Adams.  

Mar 02

Tombstone Tuesday-Vacant Chair with Shoes Grave Marker

A pair of child’s shoes on a small vacant chair indicates the site of a child’s grave, even if there is no identifying information on the marker. One of the shoes is usually on its side.

Feb 26

Jacob Bolenbaugher Will, 1843

Below is the 1843 will of Jacob Bolenbaugher, of Van Wert County, Ohio.

I am not sure who Jacob Bolenbaugher was or if the spelling of this surname eventually changed to Bolenbaugh or Bollenbacher.