Grey Owl - Marriages and Families

Marriages and Families

Belaney had relationships with at least five women. He deserted his first wife and child, later committing bigamy by marrying Constance Holmes in England. He had a daughter with his first and third wives, and was known to have fathered a boy as well.

Women in Belaney's life:

  • Angele Egwuna (Anishinaabe), married August 1910. Daughter Agnes Belaney.
  • Métis woman, with whom Belaney had a son. She died of tuberculosis soon after the boy was born and he was raised by her family.
  • Constance (Ivy) Holmes, married in England in 1917. No children.
  • Gertrude Bernard (Anahareo) (Mohawk), eight-year affair beginning with Anishinaabe marriage ceremony in 1925. Daughter Shirley Dawn, b. 1932. Separated 1936.
  • Yvonne Perrier (French Canadian), "married" November 1936. No children.

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