A shocking union between a 22-year-old farmer and a nine-year-old girl in 1937 led to significant legal reforms to prevent such occurrences in the future. Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead exchanged vows on January 19, 1937, in rural Tennessee, officiated by Baptist minister Walter Lamb. At the time, state laws did not specify a minimum marriage age, making the marriage technically legal, despite widespread public outcry. Johns paid Lamb one dollar for conducting the ceremony, while Winstead deceived her parents by claiming she was going out to buy a doll.
Johns misrepresented Winstead’s age on the marriage certificate, but local residents later discovered she was only nine years old. Records showed that Winstead’s mother had also married as a teenager at 16, and her sister had wed at the age of 13. Martha Winstead, Eunice’s mother, eventually approved the marriage due to Johns being a landowner with 50 acres of land and livestock, considering him a respectable farmer.
Martha Winstead justified her support, stating, “The Bible teaches not to disrupt peaceful relationships, and I follow its guidance. If they love each other, marriage is the right path.” She also commended her son-in-law, describing him as hardworking and a landowner who had recently acquired property to build a home for them. She emphasized that she had raised her children to marry for love rather than material possessions.
Johns simply stated, “The marriage is acceptable to me; it cannot be undone now.” During a visit by a journalist, Eunice spent the day playing with her two-year-old sister at their mountain residence, trying to demonstrate her maturity. Martha mentioned that Charlie had bought Eunice a large doll for Christmas, but she showed more interest in sewing and demonstrated skill in cooking.
The news of the marriage made national headlines, leading to widespread public outrage and calls for change. Women’s organizations in Minnesota and other states demanded legal reforms to address child marriage exploitation in the country, using Eunice’s case as an example.
In response to the public outcry, Tennessee swiftly passed legislation later in 1937 setting the minimum marriage age at 16 with mandatory waiting periods for girls under 18. Despite the controversy, Charlie and Eunice remained married for many years. Eunice briefly attended primary school in the summer of 1937 but left due to behavioral issues.
The couple lived with Johns’ parents in Sneedville for several years. Eunice gave birth at the age of 14 in December 1942 and went on to have eight more children with Charlie. Surprisingly, Johns opposed his 17-year-old daughter’s marriage to a 20-year-old man, claiming she had misrepresented her age to obtain a marriage license. Despite this, their marriage endured for over six decades, with Charlie passing away in February 1997 and Eunice following in August 2006.
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