Nestled deep within the Appalachian region of northeastern Tennessee, Hancock County, a place of remote beauty and economic hardship, became the unlikely epicenter of a national scandal in 1937. This is the story of Charlie Johns, a name that became synonymous with a controversial marriage that sparked outrage, legal reform, and a stark reflection on societal norms of the time.
In January of that year, in the small, isolated town of Treadway, Charlie Johns, then 24 years old (a detail often misreported as 22), married nine-year-old Eunice Blanche Winstead. The wedding, officiated by Reverend Walter Lamb, occurred without legal impediment due to Tennessee’s lack of a minimum age for marriage at the time, a loophole that had inadvertently made Hancock County a wedding destination. The marriage license itself, issued just days prior, seemed to validate the union in the eyes of the law.
Marriage permit for Eunice Winstead and Charlie Johns, a legal document that initiated a nationwide controversy in 1937.
The ceremony, a simple Baptist service held at a roadside curve, was quickly followed by the couple’s announcement to Charlie Johns’ father, Nick Johns, and Eunice’s family. Surprisingly, both families offered their blessings, a testament to the close-knit community and perhaps the prevailing social norms of the isolated Appalachian region. Eunice’s mother even stated, “Eunice had claimed Charlie for hers ever since we live here,” highlighting a long-standing, albeit innocent, childhood connection.
However, the local acceptance stood in stark contrast to the storm that was about to break. News from Hancock County, notoriously slow to reach the outside world due to its lack of modern infrastructure like telephone lines and railways, eventually carried the story of Charlie Johns and his young bride to national newspapers. The revelation that Eunice was only nine years old ignited a firestorm of public indignation.
The reason for the uproar was simple: Eunice’s age. While Charlie Johns was an adult, Eunice was a child, barely on the cusp of adolescence. On the morning of their elopement, Eunice had told her father she was visiting her sister, a ruse to meet Charlie and proceed with their marriage plans. The innocence of this deception further underscored her youth.
Eunice Winstead and Charlie Johns reenacting their wedding ceremony for the press, alongside Reverend Walter Lamb, in a photograph that captured national attention in 1937.
The public and the press descended upon Hancock County, eager to understand and condemn the situation. Eunice’s father, Lewis Winstead, in a weary acceptance, stated, “All right with me – there’s nothing you can do about it now.” Mrs. Winstead’s defense was even more striking, “Eunice loves Charlie and Charlie loves Eunice, and ‘taint nobody’s business but theirs.” She cited her own young marriage at 13 as justification, reflecting a generational acceptance of child marriage in certain communities.
Reverend Lamb, when questioned, offered a pragmatic, if somewhat unsettling, explanation: “If I hadn’t married them, someone else would.” He admitted he might have hesitated had he known Eunice’s precise age, but emphasized the existence of the marriage license and Eunice’s seemingly mature demeanor.
Reverend Walter Lamb, the minister who married Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead, became a figure in the national conversation about child marriage in 1937.
What shocked the nation was the legality of the marriage. Hancock County Clerk Lewis Rhea confirmed that Tennessee law, or rather the lack thereof, permitted marriage at any age with parental consent. A 1935 repeal of a previous law, intended to boost marriage license revenue in counties like Hancock, had inadvertently created this legal vacuum. Tennessee stood alone as the only state in the US without a minimum marriage age.
The public outcry was swift and strong. Leaders of women’s clubs and parent-teacher associations voiced their outrage. Mrs. Urban Neas of the Central Parent-Teacher Council declared, “I can’t imagine such a thing happening in a Christian nation.” Mrs. Graeme Canning of the Ossoli Circle women’s club lamented the commentary this marriage made on “our civilization and on East Tennessee.” Religious leaders like Rev. Walter A. Smith condemned the marriage and called for legal reform.
A photograph of Eunice and Charlie Johns featured in Life Magazine, highlighting the national fascination and concern surrounding their marriage in 1937.
Even Governor Gordon Browning, when asked for his opinion, acknowledged the marriage as “a shame” but legally sound due to parental consent, highlighting the legislative inaction that enabled such unions.
The story of Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead became a catalyst for rapid legal change. Within days of the story breaking, Tennessee senators introduced bills to establish a minimum marriage age. Public pressure was immense, and the Senate swiftly passed a bill setting the minimum age at fourteen, later raised to sixteen.
Eunice and Charlie Johns receiving mail, likely fan mail and media requests, delivered by postman George M. Williams, illustrating the intense public interest in their story.
Despite the legislative whirlwind, Charlie Johns remained defiant, stating, “Ain’t no new law goin’ to change things now. Me’n Eunice is married for keeps.” The couple retreated to Charlie’s parents’ home, seeking refuge from the relentless media attention and public scrutiny.
The intense media focus took its toll. Eunice’s father pleaded for privacy, fearing for his daughter’s mental well-being. Yet, amidst the storm, Eunice’s mother remained a staunch defender of the marriage, emphasizing love and happiness as paramount. “If they love one another, then getting married is the thing to do,” she asserted.
Charlie and Eunice Johns pictured reading the Bible, an image that sought to portray them as a conventional couple despite the extraordinary circumstances of their marriage.
The case of Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead shone a spotlight on the prevalence of child marriage in the era. It was estimated that thousands of child brides existed in the US, with a significant concentration in states like Tennessee. While Eunice was exceptionally young, her situation was not entirely isolated. The press reported on other cases, including a 12-year-old bride in New York and several instances of mothers becoming parents themselves in early adolescence.
One poignant perspective came from Mrs. Jean Darnell, a former Tennessee child bride, who, despite initially boasting about her early marriage, confessed regret and advocated for the protection of young girls. “A girl of 12 or 13 or even 14 has no idea of love or marriage. She ought to be protected,” Darnell stated, recognizing the unintended positive consequence of Eunice’s situation: sparking crucial social and legal change. “Tennessee owes a vote of thanks to its 9-year-old bride,” she concluded.
Another image of Eunice and Charlie Johns, capturing the young couple at the center of a national debate regarding child marriage in 1937.
Tennessee’s legislative response continued even after setting a minimum age. Loopholes and defiance persisted. Examples of couples crossing state lines to evade the new law and courts refusing to annul child marriages highlighted the deep-seated social issues at play. Even Charlie Johns and Eunice faced challenges when Eunice’s teacher attempted to discipline her, leading Charlie to withdraw her from school permanently, ending her formal education at a third-grade level.
The Clinch Valley school, where the romance between Eunice and Charlie Johns reportedly began, a simple backdrop to a complex and controversial love story.
Despite the initial storm and ongoing challenges, Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead’s marriage endured. They navigated public scrutiny, financial pressures (briefly considering vaudeville and movie offers), and the everyday realities of life in rural Appalachia. Rumors of marital discord proved unfounded. By their first anniversary, Charlie emphasized their resilience and desire for privacy, revealing a distrust of outsiders born from their experience.
Charlie and Eunice Johns pictured with their attorney, Taylor Drinnon, highlighting the legal and media complexities they faced in the aftermath of their marriage.
As their family grew – eventually to nine children – and Charlie Johns became a successful farmer, the national scandal faded into memory. Ironically, when their daughter Evelyn eloped at 17, Charlie initially reacted with disapproval and even had her boyfriend arrested, perhaps a reflection of changing times and a father’s protective instincts.
A domestic scene of 9-year-old Eunice Johns with her younger sister, Dorothy Winstead, making bread, presenting an image of normalcy amidst the surrounding controversy.
Evelyn and John Henry Antrican, Charlie and Eunice Johns’ daughter and son-in-law, pictured after their elopement, an event that mirrored and contrasted with Eunice and Charlie’s own marriage story.
The marriage license of John Henry Antrican and Evelyn Johns, revealing a falsified age for Evelyn, adding another layer of complexity to the family’s history with marriage and age.
Reverend Lamb, who had united Charlie and Eunice decades prior, even offered to mediate the situation with Evelyn, showcasing the long shadow cast by the original controversial marriage.
Reverend Walter Lamb in a 1937 Life Magazine photograph, the same minister who married both Eunice and Charlie Johns and, later, offered to help with their daughter’s marital issues.
In a 1976 interview, Eunice reflected on her life with Charlie Johns, expressing no regrets about her early marriage, though acknowledging the loss of education as a significant consequence.
Eunice Winstead Johns in a 1976 photograph with her granddaughter Pamela Lynn Newman, decades after the media frenzy surrounding her marriage to Charlie Johns had subsided.
Charlie Johns passed away in 1997, followed by Eunice in 2006. Their marriage, which began in scandal and controversy surrounding Charlie Johns’ name and a nine-year-old bride, lasted for sixty years and produced a large family, defying the predictions of many naysayers. Their story remains a powerful, albeit uncomfortable, reminder of a different era and the social changes sparked by an unlikely couple from rural Tennessee. It also serves as a crucial historical case study when examining the complex history of marriage laws and children’s rights.
Eunice holding her doll shortly after marrying Charlie Johns, a poignant image highlighting her childhood amidst the adult world of marriage and media attention.
Eunice and Charlie Johns in a posed photograph, attempting to present a picture of marital normalcy in the face of intense public scrutiny.
Eunice with the doll given to her by Charlie Johns, a symbol of her childhood innocence juxtaposed with her married status.
Eunice Winstead Johns with her family, highlighting the family context surrounding the controversial marriage of Eunice and Charlie Johns.
The Winstead family home in Treadway, Tennessee, the center of the unfolding drama surrounding Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead’s marriage in 1937.
Eunice, captioned as “A dutiful little wife performs a chore,” an image reflecting the societal expectations placed upon her despite her young age in her marriage with Charlie Johns.
Eunice Winstead Johns making a bed, another photograph emphasizing the domestic role she assumed as a 9-year-old bride to Charlie Johns.
Eunice Winstead Johns, identified as the youngest bride in the United States, highlighting the sensational nature of her marriage to Charlie Johns in 1937.
The marriage license of Eunice Winstead and Charlie Johns, a key document in the unfolding story of their controversial union in 1937.
The cover of the marriage license for Eunice Winstead and Charlie Johns, a seemingly ordinary document that became central to a national controversy.
An Application for Confidential Verification of the marriage, mistakenly noting Charlie Johns’ age as 14, when he was actually 24, underscoring the misinformation surrounding the Charlie Johns and Eunice Winstead story.
