About the Authors

George M. and Philip M. Mullins are brothers and great-great-grandsons of Thomas Rife. To tell Rife's story, they have spent several years visiting archives, courthouses, libraries, and the routes of early stagecoach journeys through Texas.

Philip has been interested in history and genealogy for most of his life; when he was a boy, he asked his grandmother to drive him to Pike County, Mississippi cemeteries to gather family facts from tombstones. His published works include a history of the Vietnam-era American exile community in Toronto; the history of a Mexican church in Austin, Texas, and the diary of a coffee worker in Chiapas, Mexico. He lives in Austin with his wife, Rosa.

George is a an artist and craftsman. He enjoys sharing family stories with his children and grandchildren. Other interests include golf, baseball, piano, history, art, politics and gardening. He lives with his wife, Colleen, in Austin, Texas.