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

Index of Liberty Township Estray Book

Was your ancestor a livestock owner in Liberty Township in the mid-1800s? If so, he probably registered his livestock’s earmark brand with the clerk in this Mercer County, Ohio, township. I wrote about the Liberty Township Estray Book in last week’s blog post. The first part of this old book deals with stray animals while …

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Tombstone Tuesday–William C. & Barbara S. Allmandinger

This is the tombstone of William C. and Barbara S. Allmandinger, located in the last row of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: ALLMANDINGER Mother Barbara S. 1877-1929 Father William C. 1867-1919 Gone but not forgotten As I mentioned last week, William and Barbara Allmandinger attended both Zion Lutheran …

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Estray Book of Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio

Back in the 1800s wandering livestock was a problem that was caused primarily from the lack of fencing. This was such a problem that rules and regulations were made to deal with the stray livestock. In Ohio the first act regulating estrays was created 7 February 1804. [1] What is an estray? The definition, according …

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Tombstone Tuesday–Bertha M. Allmandinger

This is the tombstone of Bertha M. Allmandinger, located in row 11 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed: Bertha M. Allmandinger 1903-1930 It is interesting that the vital details of Bertha’s life were documented in the church records of both Zion Lutheran Chattanooga and Zion Lutheran Schumm. According to the …

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Conferences and Research

The 2013 FGS Conference is less than three months away now. This is one of two national genealogy conferences that I try to attend if relatively close. This year’s FGS conference is in Fort Wayne, close enough for me to drive every day. The May/June blog post prompt for conference ambassadors is “How will you …

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