After purchasing property in Pleasantville, David Rosenthal decided to research the area to see what stories his new home held.
What he found was a buried history of murder, vengeance and secrets.
Rosenthal, who teaches photography at the University of Cincinnati, is digging up the past with the intent of showing his work in a gallery, and perhaps one day, a book.
“I was reading about the history of Owen County and came across the story of the outlaws who lived here in the 1860s,” Rosenthal said. “I found out they lived very near my place. I became interested in finding out more of the story and possibly photographing some of the sights.”
Not much remains to be photographed, and most of the stories have been handed down from one generation to the next, sometimes conflicting with other stories.
While Rosenthal is finding that the truth varies depending on the person telling the story, state records provide an official account of the events.
In 1876 in Owenton, Richard Shuck was convicted of the murder of his father-in-law, Nelson Parish.
During his incarceration in Owen County, Shuck detailed how he first began a life of crime and became involved with the Ku-Klux-Klan and a band of marauders.
He claimed the other marauders — “King Jim” Simmons and Bob, Joseph and Robert Goodrich — were the real villains and that Shuck lived in a constant state of fear of them.
While at the gallows in the final minutes of his life, Shuck continued to declare his innocence and said the marauders were responsible for Parish’s death.
Despite his claims, Shuck was still hanged.
Simmons and the Goodrichs were later arrested, and while being held in a jail in New Castle, a mob stormed the jail, hijacked the prisoners and hung each of them from a bridge.
From his research, Rosenthal has found that people are in general disagreement about who is responsible for the murder of Nelson Parish.
And scars are still fresh enough that some people have refused to talk to him about the incidents.
“I think people are interested because they think the truth has not been told,” Rosenthal said. “I think there’s doubt about how the murder happened.”
Whatever secrets still exist are being locked away and heavily guarded, as Rosenthal has found throughout his six months of research.
He did find and photograph the actual place where the murder supposedly took place — an old farm owned now by Bill Chatfield.
He also photographed a tree where the Leitch Hotel once stood, saying that was where Shuck went to get drunk after the murder was committed.
Among his other pictures are remnants of the Owen County and Henry County jails, as well as other areas connected with the murder.
“I’m interested in the visuals of today and yesterday,” Rosenthal said. “What’s left and what’s not left, but in terms of people and places. Most of my work has been about places. I’m trying to make it more about people.”
The people are long gone and the places are spread all around Owen County. Only now, 130 years later, most of them haven’t survived the test of time.
What remains are stories that Rosenthal would like to uncover in his journey to better know the area he calls home.
“It’s a way of understanding the place and finding a connection to it,” he said.
Rosenthal is still in the early stages of collecting raw material, and said he feels he still has another year’s worth of research and work to do to find the truth, or to at least come as close as he can get before he’s ready to show his work.
Anyone interested in contacting Rosenthal with information can do so at davidrosenthal@fuse.net.

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