Viola Biering was the daughter of Edward Julius Biering and Luc (Leeze) Forman, who married in Alexandria, Louisiana. Viola was born there, but with growing uncertainty and insecurity around Alexandria, her German-born father decided to join his many native countrymen in Texas. He moved the family to the sparsely populated Colorado County where he established a successful dry goods store far from scene of the conflict. Subsequently, Viola’s parents sent her to the Ursuline Academy in Galveston to study. In 1882, she married William Lewis Shumate (1849–1925), a young Galveston attorney. William died in 1925, and Viola remained in Galveston to be near her children until her own death in 1942.

The sampler, stitched by Viola at age 14, is a relatively simple example consistent with the latest period of sampler making in this country. While its format is reminiscent of earlier examples, comprising three sets of alphabets and a row of numerals, it is evident by 1876 that the plethora of stitch types so common earlier, was now reduced to cross-stitches. As was common practice in Catholic schools, the name of the institution was worked into the embroidery as well.