She was Métis, being 1/4 Native American, a fact that she hid from her family. Where she grew up, "Half-Breeds", as anyone with any native ancestry were known, were discriminated against is virtually every aspect of their lives.
Her first husband was Peter Norman Stewart, they had 4 children together. Ethel hated the winters in Manitoba, so her husband sent her to Vancouver, BC for the winters. She had affair after affair there, fell madly in love with a man in 1924, and filed for a legal separation. Once she had obtained that, the man walked out of her life.
She refused to grant her husband a divorce. He supported her, until the mid 1940's, when she met a man and fell in love. He wanted to marry her, so she finally allowed the divorce.
She married Richard Landis Fry in January 1946, and he died in July 1949, leaving her a destitute widow. She had to work as a maid at the YMCA, to earn her keep (the first job she had ever had).
She was my paternal grandmother. She was a VERY bitter woman, hating virtually everyone, including her 3 surviving children.
Her two daughters looted her estate, even selling the coffin she had purchased to be buried in.
She was Métis, being 1/4 Native American, a fact that she hid from her family. Where she grew up, "Half-Breeds", as anyone with any native ancestry were known, were discriminated against is virtually every aspect of their lives.
Her first husband was Peter Norman Stewart, they had 4 children together. Ethel hated the winters in Manitoba, so her husband sent her to Vancouver, BC for the winters. She had affair after affair there, fell madly in love with a man in 1924, and filed for a legal separation. Once she had obtained that, the man walked out of her life.
She refused to grant her husband a divorce. He supported her, until the mid 1940's, when she met a man and fell in love. He wanted to marry her, so she finally allowed the divorce.
She married Richard Landis Fry in January 1946, and he died in July 1949, leaving her a destitute widow. She had to work as a maid at the YMCA, to earn her keep (the first job she had ever had).
She was my paternal grandmother. She was a VERY bitter woman, hating virtually everyone, including her 3 surviving children.
Her two daughters looted her estate, even selling the coffin she had purchased to be buried in.
Family Members
-
![]()
James Alexander Black
1877–1901
-
![]()
Joseph Alexander Black
1877–1954
-
Mary Ann "Marie" Black Foulds
1879–1957
-
John William Black
1881–1924
-
![]()
Ada Elizabeth Black Muller
1883–1977
-
Elizabeth Esther Black Cornelius
1884 – unknown
-
Alexander Black
1885 – unknown
-
Jemima May Black
1886–1913
-
Private Leslie Arthur "Les" Black
1887–1917
-
Joseph Black
1891 – unknown
-
Isabella Cecelia Black
1894–1895
-
![]()
Edith Alice "Elva" Black Cooper
1897–1990
-
![]()
Pearl Edna "Verda" Black Marshall
1900–1937
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
