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? — 32 comments
  3. The Old Willshire Hotel — 30 comments
  4. The Milligan Painting — 22 comments
  5. Metal Cemetery Monuments — 21 comments

Author's posts

The Farmers’ Institute

Years ago there was an event many people in our rural community looked forward to during the dreary winter months. It provided something for everyone, young and old, rural and village dweller. It was the annual Farmers’ Institute. I had never heard about this locally-held event until recently, but some of you might remember attending …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Fred H. Schinnerer

This is the tombstone of Fred H. Schinnerer, located in row 10 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Fred H. SCHINNERER Mar. 8, 1904 Oct. 2, 1984 Friedrich Heinrich Schinnerer was the fourth child born to Henry F. and Louise (Schumm) Schinnerer. According to Zion Schumm’s records he …

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Chatt Merchants vs. Willshire, Baseball 1933

It has been one long, cold, snowy winter. Although the calendar tells us that it is spring, it still feels more like winter. However, there are other indications that warmer weather is on its way. Most of the snow is gone and it only snowed one day this past week. Temperatures have been in the …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Charles & Catherine E. Bollenbacher

This is the tombstone of Charles and Catherine E. (Becker) Bollenbacher, located in row 6 of Kessler Cemetery [aka Liberty Cemetery], Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Charles 1845-1923 Catherine E. 1845-1917 Their Record is on High BOLLENBACHER Charles was the youngest son born to George and Henrietta (Alt) Bollenbacher. He was …

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A Wild Man in the Woods

The news of this incident, which occurred near Chattanooga, Ohio, made it all the way to Cincinnati in 1886. Dateline Decatur, Indiana. A Wild Man in the Woods Special Dispatch to the Enquirer Decatur, Ind., July 9 [1886]—The citizens of Chattanooga, Ohio, and vicinity are very much excited over the appearance of a crazy or …

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