Andrews, Viola

Viola P. Andrews (1912- ), African-American writer, columnist, and Sunday School teacher, was born the sixth child of nine in Morgan County, Georgia, to John Crawford Perryman and Lula (Allison) Perryman. She was raised in rural Georgia where she attended Guiding Star Elementary School and the Burney Street School through the eighth grade. In July of 1928, she had her first of ten children, Harvey Christopher. Two years later, she married George Andrews, a sharecropper and folk artist of Morgan County, Georgia. She had nine other children: Benny Andrews (b. 1930), Valeria Belle Andrews (b. 1932), Raymond Andrews (1934-1991), Shirley Andrews (b. 1936), Harold Andrews (1938-1976), Johnny Andrews (b. 1942), Veronica Andrews (b. 1948), Deloris Andrews (b. 1950), and Gregory Andrews (b. 1953). In the early years of Viola Andrews' marriage, she and her husband lived as sharecroppers in rural Morgan County, Georgia. By 1953, however, Viola decided to move to Atlanta with her children with the exception of Harvey and Benny who had already left home. The remaining children were raised in Atlanta and graduated from high school. All of her boys joined the military and went to college, and her daughters all also attended college. Her sons Benny and Raymond have been recognized for their accomplishments as artist and writer respectively.