In a surprising union that captured national attention and triggered significant legal changes to prevent its recurrence, a 22-year-old farmer named Charlie Johns married a nine-year-old girl named Eunice Winstead. The wedding took place on January 19, 1937, in rural Tennessee, officiated by Baptist minister Walter Lamb. At the time, there was no minimum marriage age set by state law, making the marriage technically legal, despite widespread disapproval.
Johns misrepresented Winstead’s age on the marriage certificate application, leading locals to discover that she was only nine years old. Records showed that Winstead’s mother had also married as a teenager at 16, while her sister had married at just 13. Martha Winstead, Eunice’s mother, eventually approved the marriage due to Johns being a landowner with a good reputation as a farmer, owning 50 acres of land.
Amidst public outrage, Martha Winstead defended the marriage, citing biblical principles of not disrupting peaceful relationships and supporting the union if based on love. She praised Johns as a hardworking individual who had recently acquired land for their future home. Despite the controversy, the couple remained married for many years, with Eunice briefly attending school in the summer of 1937 but discontinuing due to behavioral issues.
Following the national attention the story received, Tennessee swiftly passed legislation later in 1937 setting 16 as the minimum marriage age with mandatory waiting periods for girls under 18. Despite the initial backlash, Charlie Johns and Eunice remained married for decades, having nine children together. Their marriage endured challenges, including disagreements over their own daughter’s marriage at a young age, but lasted over 60 years until their passing in the late 1990s and early 2000s.