This is for Kathy Favorite and others, Welcome to Franklin County Genealogy! I too am researching Catholic families (some were born Lutheran) in Franklin and Dearborn counties. Some of the names you mentioned: Geis, Stenger, Ripberger appear on tangents of my family tree. My major families for Franklin and Dearborn counties are: Walter(s), Altherr, and Weber. They originated in Hesse-Darmstadt and the Palatinate (now Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate in German Federal Republic). Does any of this sound familiar? Judy Walters