My second great grandfather, Willis King Pinkston was born in 1831, probably in Lowndes County, Georgia, the son of John S. Pinkston (1804-1862) and Frances King Pinkston, b. 1814.

John S. and Frances had twelve children who survived to adulthood, five daughters and seven sons. Three of their sons were killed in the Civil War, and two others served and survived. The birth year of those for whom no military record or other hard evidence has been found has been calculated according to their age given in the various United States census records in which they were listed. The following family information was provided by James Pinkston, a second great grandson of Willis King Pinkston who lives in Plantation, Florida:

The children of John S. and Frances King Pinkston were:

• Willis King 1831 – 1863 married Nancy Jane Walker
• John Sanford 1832 – 1897 married Winifred King
• Daniel W. 1835 – 1910 married Eliza Jane Miller
• Mary Ann E. b1836 married Asa Harrison
• Martha A. C. 1839 – 1894 married John Henry Markey
• James B. 1840 – 1862 never married - KIA CSA
• David W. 1841 – 1863 never married - KIA CSA
• George W. 1844 - 1850
• Sarah Ann b1845 married John W. Moran
• Cornelius Anderson b1847 never married
• Henry Melton 1850 - 1918 married Emily Horndon
• Mahala Frances 1852 – 1924 married James Isaiah Dubose
• Nancy E. b1857 married James J. Harris

Willis married Nancy Jane Walker ca. 1855 in Georgia, who was born in 1839 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, the daughter of Solomon Walker and Mary King Walker.

The children of Willis Pinkston and Nancy Walker were:

• Francis M. Pinkston, born 1855 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia. He married Sarah "Sally" M. Abbott October 14, 1877 in Georgia or Florida; born ca. 1860.

• Alexander A. Pinkston, born 1857 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia.

• Theodore Adolphus Pinkston, born April 06, 1858 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia; died May 5, 1925 in Dukes, Union County, Florida. He married (1) Holland Irene Peters January 4, 1885 in Orlando, Orange County, Florida; born ca. 1866 in Alabama. He married (2) Mary Lee Hale on April 29, 1902 in Dukes, Bradford (later Union), Florida; she was born on February 4, 1881 in Dukes, Bradford (later Union), Florida; died February 13, 1975 in Dukes, Union County, Florida.

• Mary M. Pinkston, born 1859 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia; died before 1869 in Georgia or Florida.

• Susan Alice Pinkston, born January 11, 1861 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia; died August 30, 1902 in Worthington Springs, Bradford (later Union) County, Florida. She married Samuel Wiles DuBose November 7, 1877 in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia; born February 22, 1854 in Darlington, Darlington District, South Carolina; died March 8, 1936 in Worthington Springs, Bradford (later Union) County, Florida.

Willis King Pinkston (1841-1863) enlisted in the Confederate States Army (CSA) at Gainesville, Florida, on April 2, 1862, in the Seventh Florida Infantry Regiment, Co. D, CSA. After being detained in Florida to guard the St. Marks area, the regiment was sent (along with the First Florida Cavalry and the Sixth Florida) to Chattanooga and then to east Tennessee. The regiment served in this region in 1862 and 1863 and was involved in Kirby-Smith's 1862 invasion of Kentucky. After an arduous three-day march, Willis died at the University Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee on January 12, 1863, and is buried in the local Bethel Cemetery.

Nancy Walker Pinkston returned to Georgia after Willis's death. She and her children lived with her parents, Solomon and Nancy King Walker, in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia. The last available record of Nancy was the 1870 US census record in Quitman, which indicated that she and four of her children were listed as living with her parents. Her daughter Mary Pinkston was not listed, and had presumably died before 1870. Nancy might have remarried. It is assumed that she died sometime after 1870, probably in Georgia.

Submitted on June 12, 2011 by his second great granddaughter, Sandra Johnson Witt