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. The Milligan Painting — 22 comments
  5. Metal Cemetery Monuments — 21 comments

Author's posts

Oct 18

A Collection of Ball Caps

Men folk of all ages in these parts like to wear ball caps. Nearly every male I know wears a ball cap from time to time, if not most of the time. Joe, Jeff, farmers, laborers, males young and old wear ball caps. My dad always wore a ball cap and my grandpa Miller wore …

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Oct 15

Tombstone Tuesday–Edward Rudolph & Almeda (Heffner) Kessler

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday photo looks a little different. Different because the subjects of this week’s post have no tombstone. I have been writing about the Kessler family that settled near Chattanooga, Ohio, in the mid-1800s and the trail has led me to this Kessler couple who has no tombstone. But sources indicate that they …

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Oct 11

First Auto Made and Crashed in Ohio City

Last Monday’s episode of the new PBS series Genealogy Roadshow featured a short clip with audience member Jennifer Weed and professional genealogist Josh Taylor. Weed’s great-grandfather John William Lambert made the first gasoline-powered automobile in the U.S. and she wanted to know if he had had a feud with Henry Ford. Josh Taylor confirmed that …

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Oct 08

Tombstone Tuesday–Infant Daughter of E & A Kessler

This is the tombstone of the infant daughter of E. & A. Kessler, located in Kessler Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Infant Dau of E. & A. Kessler Died Sept. 19, 1905 There is no record of this baby girl’s birth or death in the records of Zion Lutheran Chatt. …

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Oct 04

Livin’ the Dream in Chatt

They have been “Livin’ the Dream” in Chattanooga, Ohio, for the past 37 years, but now Barney and Twila Lehman will find new ways to follow their dreams. For nearly 4 decades the couple owned and operated the Chatt Bar but in May of this year they sold the popular local establishment. Last Saturday my …

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