Early life Scopes was born in 1900 to Thomas Scopes and Mary Alva Brown, who lived on a farm in Paducah, Kentucky. John was their fifth child and only son. The family relocated to Danville, Illinois when he was a teenager. In 1917, he relocated to Salem, Illinois, where he was a member of the class of 1919 at Salem Community High School.
Early life Scopes was born in 1900 to Thomas Scopes and Mary Alva Brown, who lived on a farm in Paducah, Kentucky. John was their fifth child and only son. The family relocated to Danville, Illinois when he was a teenager. In 1917, he relocated to Salem, Illinois where he was a member of the class of 1919 at Salem Community High School.