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 offered Lamb a dollar (equivalent to $22 in today) to perform the marriage. To get to the wedding without her parents’ knowledge, Winstead told them she was going out to get a doll.
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, and 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 of the marriage.
Johns and Winstead’s marriage was discovered by the press approximately ten days after the wedding. It was then 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. Johns avoided media attention, accusing reporters of making things up, and he did not allow any photographs to be taken of his wife and children.
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 that 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 portrayed Winstead sitting on Johns’ knees.
Reactions to the marriage triggered a change to the law in Tennessee, forbidding marriage of individuals under the age of 16, even if they have parental consent. It provided for exceptions in cases such as pregnancy.
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