Marriage of Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead

The marriage of 22-year-old Charlie Johns and 9-year-old Eunice Winstead was an occurrence of child marriage that happened in the state of Tennessee, United States, in 1937.[1][2][3] The event received national attention after Life Magazine published an article about the union in February of the same year.[4]

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.[4] Both parties remained married after the Tennessee law was passed,[5] the marriage persisted until Johns' death in 1997.[2] Johns and Winstead had four children throughout their lifetimes.

Background

On January 19, 1937, 22-year-old tobacco farmer Charlie Johns married his 9-year-old neighbor, Eunice Winstead.[1][6] The couple was joined by Baptist preacher Walter Lamb in Sneedville, Hancock County.[1][2][4]

Johns falsified Winstead's age in order to obtain their marriage license.[7][1] At the time of their marriage, the state of Tennessee had no minimum age for marriage.[8][4] Winstead's mother had married at the age of sixteen, her sister Ina married at thirteen.[1] Though the mothers of Johns and Winstead initially believed that Eunice was too young to marry, they ultimately decided to approve the matrimony.[9] As of 1938, the couple still lived with Johns' parents.[10]

In December 1942, at the age of fifteen years, Winstead gave birth to the couple's first child.[2][7] They subsequently had four more children during their marriage. The couple remained married until Johns' death in 1997, which was followed by Winstead's death in 2006.[2][7]

Reactions

Johns and Winstead's marriage was widely covered by American newspapers and magazines.[4] The union was reported by the Times and Life magazines, along with the New York Times. It also inspired the 1938 film Child Bride.[3]

A 1937 piece published by Life Magazine about the case displayed a picture of Winstead and Johns at their home in Sneedville.[4] In a news article published in the same year, the 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".[1][2] Another Newsweek article featured an image of Winstead sitting on Johns' knees.[11]

A few weeks after the union, the state of Tennessee passed a law limiting the age of marriage to sixteen years. The bill was signed by governor Gordon Browning.[2] Some other states, such as Minnesota, Rhode Island and Washington D.C. also introduced similar laws.[4][12]

See also

References
  1. L. Syrett, Nicholas (2016-10-03). "Chapter Eight. Marriage Comes Early in the Mountains: The Persistence of Child Marriage in the Rural South". American Child Bride: A History of Minors and Marriage in the United States. University of North Carolina Press. doi:10.5149/northcarolina/9781469629537.003.0009. ISBN 978-1-4696-2953-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. Carey, Bill (2023-10-09). "The creepy stories behind Tennessee's marriage laws". Tullahoma News. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  3. Syrett, Nicholas L. (2014). "Imagining Rural Sexuality in the Depression Era: Child Brides, Exploitation Film, and the Winstead-Johns Marriage". American Studies Association.
  4. Tsui, Anjali. "Married Young: The Fight Over Child Marriage in America". PBS. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  5. Fox, Lauren (2019). "Child Marriage in the United States". Law School Student Scholarship – via Seton Hall University repository.
  6. Nivès, R. (March 1937). Enlèvement de Mineure ou Mariage Légal (in French). Police Magazine.
  7. Pylant, James (2020-09-28). "A Child Bride in Tennessee". Genealogy Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  8. Mensah, Ebenezer (2023-09-11). "Unearthing a Forgotten Chapter: The Marriage of Eunice Winstead Johns and Charlie Johns in 1937 Tennessee". BNN. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  9. E. John, Mary (2021). Child Marriage in an International Frame. Taylor & Francis. p. 75. ISBN 9781000373448.
  10. Child Bride Asks to be Let Alone (January 1938). Daily Illini.
  11. Robertson, Stephen (2006). Crimes Against Children: Sexual Violence and Legal Culture in New York City, 1880-1960. University of North Carolina Press. p. 191. ISBN 9780807876480.
  12. Kindy, Kimberly (2023). "As advocates push for child marriage bans, some states resist". The Washington Post.
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