The photo shows Homer Peel kissing Geneva, his 10-year-old wife — moments after a judge accepted his reasoning, refused to annul their marriage, and sent the child back to her husband. Homer was thirty-four; Geneva was ten.
Content Warning: ⚠️ This article discusses historical child marriage and abuse for educational and historical purposes. It does not endorse or promote such practices. The photo shows Homer Peel kissing Geneva, his 10-year-old wife — moments after a judge accepted his reasoning, refused to annul their marriage, and sent the child back to her husband. Homer was thirty-four; Geneva was ten. He had reportedly promised her a new hat as a reward for her obedience. In the 1930s American South, such child marriages were not rare. Laws against them were weak or nonexistent, and even when legislation was passed — like the 1937 law prohibiting marriages involving minors — the practice continued quietly in many communities. This photograph is disturbing not only for what it shows, but for what it represents: an era where a child’s innocence could be signed away with a judge’s pen. Homer and Geneva Peel remained married until 1975, raising seven children — six daughters and one son — a...