Those Pink boys…

Warning: I’m in genealogy mode again. It happens to me about twice a year, when I become engrossed in research.

My great grandfather’s name was Pink Walker. His twin brother’s name was Rose. Yes, Pink and Rose, twin boys. It confused the census takers too. So, Pink was born in 1869 and lived in North Texas outside Dallas-Fort Worth. He died in 1959 shortly before his 90th birthday.

Sometimes I leave the confines of ancestry.com and give old google a try. A search for “Pink Walker Texas” brought up a rather surprising discovery.

There’s a book about the family of a boy named Pink Walker, born in 1870, who lived in North Texas, outside Dallas-Fort Worth, who died in 1964. It’s historic fiction but based on the life of a real person, told by a descendant. Pink is the main character. It’s called Flowers For Milley: Adventures of a Pioneer Family on the Frontier of Texas.

Needless to say, I had to buy it, even though it’s not “my” Pink. Mine was born in Texas and moved to Arkansas, the other was born in Arkansas and moved to Texas. Mine lived west of Dallas, the other east, though not far for either. Just such a bizarre coincidence. I had to look up the other one in the census too, and found the family in 1880.

I read about 4 pages of the book when it arrived on Saturday, but now it’s with my dad. Vicarious family history. Funny.