Marriage of Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead

The marriage of 22-year-old Charlie Johns and nine-year-old Eunice Winstead was an occurrence of child marriage that happened in the state of Tennessee, United States, in 1937. The event received national attention after Life magazine published an article about the union in February of the same year.

In response to Johns and Winstead's marriage, the state of Tennessee introduced a law setting the minimum age of marriage at sixteen years. Other states, such as Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C., also introduced similar laws. Both parties remained married after the Tennessee law was passed, and the marriage persisted until Johns' death in 1997. Johns and Winstead had nine children throughout their lifetimes.

Background

On January 19, 1937, 22-year-old tobacco farmer Charlie Johns married his 9-year-old neighbor, Eunice Winstead. The couple was joined by Baptist preacher Walter Lamb in Sneedville, Hancock County.

Johns falsified Winstead's age in order to obtain their marriage license. At the time of their marriage, the state of Tennessee had no minimum age for marriage. Winstead's mother had married at the age of sixteen, her sister Ina married at thirteen. Though the mothers of Johns and Winstead initially believed that Eunice was too young to marry, they ultimately decided to approve the matrimony. She dropped out of school in 1937, and, as of 1938, the couple still lived with Johns' parents.

In December 1942, at the age of fifteen years, Winstead gave birth to the couple's first child. They subsequently had eight more children during their marriage. The couple remained married until Johns' death in 1997, which was followed by Winstead's death in 2006.

Reactions

Johns and Winstead's marriage was widely covered by American newspapers and magazines. The union was reported by The Times and Life magazines, along with The New York Times. It also inspired the 1938 film Child Bride.

A 1937 piece published by Life about the case displayed a picture of Winstead and Johns at their home in Sneedville. In a news article published in the same year, The Knoxville Journal reported that "The Winstead family seems complacent over the future of the 9-year-old bride because Charlie, the bridegroom, owns 50 acres of mountain land, several mules and he's a good farmer". Another article in Newsweek featured an image of Winstead sitting on Johns' knees.

See also

• Child marriage in the United States
• Marriage age in the United States

References

External links

• "Child Bride Happy in Play with Doll". The New York Times, January 1937.
• "Education: Exempt Bride". Time, August 1937.