Daughter of the White River: Depression-Era Treachery and Vengeance in the Arkansas Delta

by Denise White Parkinson, Dale Woodiel (Foreword)

Join author Denise Parkinson for an intimate look at a Depression-era tragedy.
The once-thriving houseboat communities along Arkansas' White River are long gone, and few remember the sensational murder story that set local darling Helen Spence on a tragic path. In 1931, Spence shocked Arkansas when she avenged her father's murder in a DeWitt courtroom. The state soon discovered that no prison could hold her. For the first time, prison records are unveiled to provide an essential portrait. The legend of Helen Spence refuses to be forgotten--despite her unmarked grave.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2013

Reviews

[Melissa Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This caught my attention after listening to the case on a podcast episode of Morbid. Living in Arkansas, I had never heard this case and so when I heard it was featuring the White River (which flows through my county in Arkansas), I had to check this book out.

It was very well written and finished it pretty quick. Definitely a must read for true crime lovers as well as Arkansans.

[Calysta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd like to see this one turned into a movie.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this short little book and it was so engaging i finished it in about 3 hours. It is the story of Helen Spence, and the unique culture she grew up in that has now died out: that of the houseboat community on the Arkansas White River. It also takes place during the bleak 1930s and really makes you feel the sadness and hopelessness of that time and place. Helen was a young woman who suffered a string of tragedies at the age of 17, but took justice into her own hands and bravely faced systemic injustice with an unbreakable spirit.
Part of the reason the book is able to be so powerful is the author's personal stake in Helen Spence's story and that of the river people. She also grew up there, and as a young adult connected with another displaced river dweller, LC Brown, who was Spence's close friend and has worked to tell her story and obtain a pardon to clear her name. The love that Brown and Parkinson have for the river community really shines through the book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about a murder in the Arkansas Delta during the Great Depression. I agree with others that being from that area makes it more interesting. It's a short, quick read if you need a weekend book!

[Stephanie Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but sad. I think I would’ve liked to meet Helen.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This true crime book provides information from prison records for the first time to tell the dark story of “local darling” Helen Spence. In 1930, at 18, Helen witnessed her father’s murder and later took vengeance on the perpetrator by shooting him in court.

Her story did not end there as she was sent to a prison pea farm to do hard labor. She was tortured and tried to escape multiple times. A cage was custom-built to keep her in. It is probable that the prison orchestrated her death at the hands of a male trusty acting as a guard on the farm.

The author creates a rich portrait and atmosphere, describing the houseboat communities along Arkansas’s White River that Helen grew up around. River People had their own vibrant culture as well as their own forms of justice, which informed Helen’s actions.

I liked how the author interviewed an old friend of Helen’s and began the book from his childhood point of view. The reader gets the benefit of experiencing river life as well as seeing Helen as the real, complex human being that she was.

The backdrop of the Great Depression puts the murders into even more context, as we learn how the Depression and government programs negatively affected the area, leading to more crime, financial distress, etc. (I learned that FDR is largely to blame for Arkansas houseboat communities being destroyed and no longer existing today.)

I’m sure Helen’s story is not the first to expose the early history of Arkansas’s corrupt prison system, but it is certainly an important one. People used her crimes and death to sell newspapers while ignoring the injustices she faced in life.

As the author wrote on the back cover: “River justice couldn’t save Helen Spence, but her legacy lives on.”

[Guy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This an interesting tale of unintended consequences. Government programs in the aftermath of the Great Depression that were intended to help, had devastating effects on some. The jobs and economic recovery that help some was cold comfort to those who lost their homes, community, and way of life. I was unaware of the callous way the River People were treated. They were sacrificed in the name of progress.
Helen Spence is the face of that betrayal. Her tragic story is representative of the fate of the River People. She, as they, were used and discarded.
This book is a worthy monument to a people gone and only faintly remembered by a decreasing few. This is a history that should not be lost.

[Rhaenan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was short on information, and long on atmosphere. The first part of the book sets itself up as though it's going to be about L.C., and then rushes through what happens to Helen. Overall I was very disappointed.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This was a fascinating look into depression-era Arkansas and the lives of a very unique group of people. Helen Spence was not a name I had heard before, and I’m glad to have read the book. Overall, it was an easy and solid read.

[Bill reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daughter of the White River captures the rural Arkansas of the 1930s with the feel of a Mark Twain story. The people lived on houseboats and survived mostly by hunting and fishing with some bootlegging thrown in for good measure.
It was into this environment that Helen Spence became fodder for newspapers and true detective magazines after she shot and killed a man in a courtroom. He was awaiting trial for murdering her father. She was either seventeen or eighteen at the time and after a short prison stay was released only to further complicate matters by later confessing to shooting her boss after he sexually assaulted her.
The conditions at the Arkansas prison were horrendous, with inmates bussed and sold to men as prostitutes. Helen wrote of the corruption and was most likely set up in a fatal escape attempt.
Parkinson was raised on a riverboat in Arkansas and she put her heart and soul into this excellent book.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this story from a podcast (surprise, surprise), but there are tons of great book recommendations from podcasts. I like true crime and a good heroine.
The story of Helen Spence is incredible and so so sad. But one that should be talked more about.
Denise White Parkinson has familial ties to the White River of the Arkansas Delta and her description of this place is beautiful. I want to know more about the river people of Arkansas. I originally listened to this story on audible, so I definitely would like to experience it again in book form.

[Talya Boerner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book set in the Arkansas Delta surrounding "river folks" and one girl's plan to avenge her father's murder. Based on true events, real places, and a time not that long ago. Filled with fascinating historical photos, too.

[Kat Heatherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess, I picked this up not on its own merits, but because SJ Tucker narrated the audio book. The story immediately drew me in, however, and I found myself fascinated and utterly engrossed by Helen's story. A captivating and extremely enjoyable little book, well written and well read.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look into life on the white river in the 1930's, and, the story of Helen Spence. Probably more interesting if you are from the Delta, lots of old photos in book too.

[Johnny Linehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad tale brilliantly told

Denise White Parkinson knows the land and waters of Arkansas, and understands its people , so she brings authority to the story of Helen

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

People used to live in house boats along the free flowing rivers in Arkansas. They got along with landlivers but were cautious. Once a year there was a Reunion (fair) that brought both River and land people together. Takes place in 1929 - stock market crash, dust bowl, pellagra.

Prohibition ended in 1933 mainly so government could tax whiskey for revenue. Financial tycoons in Arkansas ignored the plight of the people. Governor Futrell said “the poor are not worth the gun powder to shoot them” not a lot has changed in Arkansas.

Helen Spence killed the man who murdered her father and step mother in a court house . She stayed with town people before the trial and worked for a mean and nasty cafe owner who tried to rape her. He wound up dead. She was sent to prison ( pea farm in north Little Rock) but a lawyer got her off…. 1 week later she confessed to killing the cafe owner and sent back to prison. She was gunned down in the back while walking away from the farm. An inmate had made a deal with officials to kill her and he would get lenient punishment.

It was a nice history lesson. Why the south is still so poor…

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really great read.

I’ve been a fan of musician S. J. Tucker for quite some time now, and her song “Girl From the River” is a familiar one to me. The song is a biographical ballad of the life of Helen Spence. If you like this book, I highly recommend checking it out.

SJ narrated the audiobook of “Daughter of the White River” and is the reason I picked this up/even knew about it in the first place.

This book was pitched to me as a biography of Helen Spence, and it is. It’s also a lot more than that.

Given that Helen has been dead for quite some time now and - excluding prison records and newspaper clippings - there aren’t many records of her life, “Daughter of the White River” takes a sideways look at her life. It’s Helen as seen from the accounts of her friends - notably L.C. Brown & John Black - plus a lot of context regarding the time period & her community, The River People.

I really enjoyed “Daughter of the White River” and do recommend it to anyone who’s interested. It’s a quick read and paints a vivid snapshot of a particular place, time and people, which has mostly been lost to obscurity.

[Amy Landkrohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me because it included information about the Pea Farm near Jacksonville, AR during the 1930s. I grew up in the area and had only heard rumors about the facility (which is now long gone).

Helen Spence was an inmate there after having been convicted of murder on two different occasions. She paid the ultimate price after her last escape attempt unfortunately.

I thought this book was very well told. Helen’s early life as a river person was described with great imagery and accuracy. I was left feeling sad after finishing the book about how tragic Helen’s life became. She suffered many injustices under a corrupt penal system.

I definitely recommend this book for those who enjoy true crime and history.

[Sam Pigeon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book contained a lot of irrelevant information, and didn't really focus on Helen Spence. The first half of the book mostly gives the information of L.C. Brown, whom the author met and learned the information from. Half the time information was just suddenly given about Helen after the author was writing of something else, no cohesive transition into the information, and honestly wrote information about Helen as no more than a passing comment. The book says it's meant to tell the story of Helen Spence, yet this author wrote the bare minimum about her, and I learned no more about her than what was written in summary on the back of the book. Do not recommend.

[Bill Hooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my attention from a Facebook ad, because my mother was born in that part of the country in the late 1920's. She was not a part of the riverboat culture, but her family were sharecroppers that had their own unique set of problems. This was a story that I had never heard of, and I am fascinated by stories like this in my state. Arkansas has lots of fascinating tales that need to be heard, and so many of them are never going to get told. My uncle told me a few weeks before he passed away, "Every time an old man dies, his stories die with him." Anyone with a interest in the history of the "common" people in Arkansas will enjoy this book.

[Katrina]

Daughter of the White River by Denise White Patterson is like a roller-coaster, in all the best ways. From soft, tranquil moments of southern charm, to wild, heart-racing murder and prison escapes, this story has everything a true crime fan could want.

Patterson offers us a story of crime and poverty that begs us to question what we view as justice.

S.J. Tucker’s reading performance is beautiful and soothing. I hope I can experience many more audiobooks read by her.

https://imaginekatrina.blogspot.com/2...

[Georgia Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

I started reading The Daughter of the White River because I too grew up on the White River in a small town down river from Clarendon. My parents, grandparents and brother-in-law made their living off this river. Once I started reading, I could not put the book down it is so well written and vivid that it draws you into the scene. I felt more like I was there, not just reading about it. I would recommend a lot of coffee and a box of Kleenex to go along with this book.

[Evette · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the life and death of Helen Spence, one that draws similarities with Where The Crawdads Sing. Her tragic life began as a part of the River People of the White River. After the murder of her father and step mother, Helen dealt out her own River Justice, thus began her life in and out of prison.
My only complaint with this book is that I wish the photos were mixed amongst the story, instead of in large sections of only photos.

[Lauren Conn · Rating 5 out of 5]

They say well behaved women rarely make history. This is certainly true in the case of Helen Spence. This book is a must read for true crime fans, Depression Era enthusiasts, and those of us with deep Arkansas roots. This books examines life in during the Depression in Arkansas and what drove a woman to the edge in that time. This short little book will stick with me for a while.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Interesting how different life was during the depression. How they took matters in their own hands with the law. But yet disturbing because there was no way to prove innocence with technology of the time. Treated women prisoners terribly. She was so young to face the life she was dealt after her father’s death.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting look into river people and a new take on the Depression period.

This book could have been organized slightly better, but I'm not sure how that could have worked.

I did end up putting Daughter of the White River in a Little Free Library so someone else could read it also.

[Becky Marietta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend of the author at a book signing for my own book. I really enjoyed it--the author did such a great job with the research, and her easy, narrative style brought the details and facts to life. Fascinating story about a truly unique woman!

[Carol A. Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revelatory

Such a very interesting story not only of the so-called criminal but also the history of the state of Arkansas and a class/band of people I’ve never heard of. History that’s told with love and remembrance.

[Cindy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really interesting especially since it takes place close to my home. If you live around central Arkansas, you will find this history fascinating.

[Sally Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars