J. Frank Dobie was born on a ranch in Live Oak County, Texas on September 26, 1888. He graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas in 1910 and received his master's degree from Columbia University. He became an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist. He wrote numerous books depicting life in rural Texas including A Vaquero of the Brush Country, On the Open Range, Tongues of the Monte, The Voice of the Coyote, Tales of Old Time Texas, I'll Tell You a Tale, and Cow People. Coronado's Children won the Literary Guild Award in 1931. On September 14, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the Medal of Freedom. He died four days later on September 18, 1964.