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Madelon Crucikshank1863 -1937
Speculation on the life of Mattie Derdinger
One is forced to admit that Mattie's life in Yale is a bit of a mystery. How did she come to Yale, who did she come with, what did she do once she arrived and were her ways so singularly attractive that she nearly had the whole of the male population in in Yale in love with her?
Madelon or Mattie as she was often referred to, first appeared in Yale with an Emile Derdinger in 1882. In that year there was work to be had in Yale due to the CPR line bringing many workers and merchants to the area for the duration of the construction. Emile appears to be among this category, establishing a blacksmith shop on Douglas Street from 1882-85. With him was Mattie Derdinger, assumed to be his sister. Mattie was born around 1863, making her 19 when she moved to Yale. There is a possibility that they came over from France prior to arriving in Yale. 1
To the hard-working men of Yale she must have seemed the epitome of feminine need. Yale, even by the 1880's, consisted of very few eligible young ladies of good standing. In the words of Violet Sillitoe; "men were greatly in the majority, and a girl coming out from England soon found a home of her own. There were suitors a plenty." 2 This lack of ladies and the fact that she appears to have been a woman without parents living in the new world, might explain the large selection of admiring inscriptions she received from family, friends and beaus in her little autograph book. If the messages to her are any indication of her character, she was unfailingly kind and generous.
Despite the admiring dedications attesting to her beauty and kindness, no man in Yale would win her heart. That man would hail from Victoria, a widower for two years and in need of some understanding. His name was George Cruickshank and in 1884 she left her admiring beaus behind to marry her fiancé in Victoria.
They appear to have shared a close relationship throughout their union and after her death her husband donated her autograph book to the preservation of history. The little book is an endearing reflection of her character without much factual or concrete information. The book can be viewed online by going to the Gold Rush Town of Yale: Madelon Cruickshank.
Emile Derdinger remained in Yale for another year and departed in 1885 with the completion of the railway. He eventually ended up in the Maple Ridge area where he continued his profession as a blacksmith. He built a house on Calligan Avenue in 1897 where he resided until 1903. Emile passed away that year at the relatively young age of 49, and he was still practicing his trade at the time of his death. 3
Mattie and George appear to have remained in Victoria until 1937. They died within three months of one another. Mattie's autograph book was donated to the B.C. Archives shortly after her death by her husband, George who passed away soon after.
1 Census - info in CM
2 Sillitoe, Violet. Pioneer Days in B.C., Pg 15.
3 Heritage Resources of Maple Ridge, Beckett Residence, 1922. Internet
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Past Residents of YaleWhile the biographies in this album, or in the other albums, is nowhere near a complete recollection of the early settlers, lawmakers, teachers, merchants or miners, their presence in the old town lingers in recorded memoirs, town censuses and... within Yale's own memory. They will not be forgotten.
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